X. 


Jfrt/tct   /Je^  Ya^rr   ^^^/     /J&\^  Ja.^*y 

PILOT  LORE 

From  Sail  to  Steam 


AND 

HISTORICAL  SKETCHES  OF  THE 
VARIOUS  INTERESTS  IDENTI- 
FIED WITH  THE  DEVELOP- 
MENT OF  THE   WORLD'S 
gREATEST    PORT 


jO\ 


XJ 


1  922 


A/7 


Copyright  1922 

By  the  United  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Benevolent  Associations 


i 


Published  by 

The    United  J\.ew    York  and  New  Jersey 
Sandy  Hook.  Pilots  Benevolent  Associations 

Under  the  supervision  and  direction  of 

EDWARD  L.  ALLEN 


(oc/ition  z^e  Jziii 

1922 


Compiled  and  Printed  by 

THE  NATIONAL  SERVICE  BUREAU 

110  WEST  40th  STREET 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


FOREWORD 

N  THE  development  of  New  York  into  the 
world's  greatest  port,  probably  no  other  group 
of  men  has  been  so  continual  a  part  of  it,  and  so 
near  the  heart  of  it,  as  that  always  numerically  small  one, 
known  as  the  "Sandy  Hook  Pilots." 

Being  so  intimate  a  part  of  it.  probably  accounts  for  the 
fact  that  members  of  the  craft  have,  in  some  way  or  other, 
shared  in  most  of  the  many  interesting  and  tragic  events  that 
have  marked  its  growth;  events  which  left  indelible  imprints 
on  the  minds  and  lives  of  all  who  shared  their  thrills  and 
dangers. 


'tv 


It  is  upon  such  events,  upon  the  acts  of  heroism  they 
prompted,  of  deep-rooted  courage,  of  noble  sacrifice,  and  of 
duty's  high  obligation,  that  the  dearest  and  most  cherished 
traditions  of  our  craft  are  founded. 

As  time  passes  and  memory  dims,  we  feel  it  a  duty  as 
well  as  a  very  great  pleasure,  to  honor  the  men  whose  lives 
and  acts  have  honored  our  craft  by  perpetuating  in  printed 
word  a  record  of  their  deeds. 

And  that  is  the  purpose  of  this  little  book. 

United   New    York    and   New    Jersey 
Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Benevolent  Assns. 


"PILOT  TALES 


y  \ 


\/ 


^ 


IN  MEMORIAM           XIV 

ACTIVE  AND  RETIRED  SANDY  HOOK  PILOTS         ....  XX11 

THE  FIRST  PILOT                1 

FIRST   PILOT'S   LICENSE 5 

CRUISING  FAR  OUT  TO  SEA 9 

TRAGEDIES  IN  THE  SERVICE 13 

AN   ECHO   OF   THE    CIVIL   WAR 16 

THE    DAYS   OF    SENTIMENT 19 

TALES  OF  DISASTER 21 

LOSS  OF  THE  COLUMBIA 25 

SACRIFICES  TO  DUTY 27 

DARING  RESCUES 31 

TOLL    IN    THE    SIXTIES 38 

THRILLING   INCIDENTS 41 

THE  ROMEE'S  LONG  VOYAGE 43 

AMERICA    SAILED    BY    A    PILOT 47 

FOUNDERING  OF  THE  EDWARD  COOPER 51 

VOICES  FROM  THE  PAST 55 

WAR   SERVICE                58 

SOME  ITEMS  FROM  THE  LOG 61 

RACING  FOR  A  SHIP 65 

PILOTS  CARRIED  ACROSS 69 

PILOTS  AS  COAST  POLICE 72 

BOARDING   THE    LEVIATHANS 76 

GRATUITOUS   SALVAGE    WORK             79 

UNITING  THE   PILOT   SERVICES 83 

FROM    SAIL    TO    STEAM 87 

SECOND  STEAM  PILOT  BOAT 91 

PULLING  TOGETHER 95 

THE    PILOTS^    CLUB 99 

COMMISSION    CONTROL 102 

PILOTS,   BOATS,    HARBORS   AND    HIGH   LIGHTS          .         .         .  107 

REMINISCENCE  AND  COMMENT 110 

STORY  OF  THE  PILOT  AND  THE  BOY 115 

VII 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

OF  THE   VARIED  INTERESTS    WHO 

HAVE  BEEN  CONTRIBUTING 

FACTORS  IN  "DEVELOPING 

THE  SUPREMACY  OF  THE 

"PORT  OF  NEW  YORK 


f\. 


\j 


THE   WORLD'S   GREATEST    PORT 116 

PORT  FACILITIES 127 

PORT  OF  NEW  YORK  AUTHORITY 129 

UNITED  STATES  SHIP  OPERATORS'  ASSN 133 

ALEXANDER   &  BALDWIN 200 

ALL    AMERICA    CABLES 186 

AMERICAN  BLACK  SEA  LINE 297 

AMERICAN    BUREAU   OF   SHIPPING 130 

AMERICAN  DOCK   CO.                243 

AMERICAN   EXPRESS    CO 321 

ARKELL  &  DOUGLAS 250 

ATLANTIC  MUTUAL  INSURANCE  CO.                181 

ATLANTIC    PORT    RAILWAY 174 

BAKER,    CARVER    &    MORRELL 148 

BALTIMORE  &  OHIO  R.  R.  CO 266 

BANK    OF    THE    MANHATTAN    CO 258 

BARBER    STEAMSHIP    LINES 199 

BENSEL,    JOHN    ANDERSON 225 

BLACK  DIAMOND  S.  S.  CORP 286 

BOWMAN,  JOHN   MCE 226 

BOWRING  &  COMPANY 264 

BRIGGS   BITUMINOUS   COMPOSITION    CO 250 

BRIONES   &   COMPANY 288 

BURROWS,  GEO.  R.,  INC 217 

BUSH    TERMINAL 160 

CAMPBELL,    PALMER 291 

CARIBBEAN  STEAMSHIP  CO 287 

IX 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

{Continued) 


G 


£X 


XJ 


CHASE,    CAPTAIN  DANIEL  C 180 

CLARK,   JAMES   H 266 

COLUMBIA   BRONZE   CORPORATION 228 

COLUMBIA   TRUST    COMPANY 256 

COLUMBUS  MARINE  CORPORATION 304 

COMPAGNIE  GENERALE  TRANSATLANTIQUE  (FRENCH  LINE )  170 

COMPANIA  TRASATLANTICA 320 

CORY  MANN  GEORGE  CORP 272 

COSTON   SIGNAL   CO 269 

CRANE'S   SONS   CO.,   THEODORE   A 289 

CUNARD   STEAMSHIP   COMPANY 139 

DELAWARE  LACKAWANNA  &  WESTERN  R.  R.   CO.    .        .         .  233 

DE  RONDE,   PHILIP 281 

DOLLAR,    CAPTAIN    ROBERT  303 

DONNELLY,    WILLIAM    T 313 

DURKEE,  CHAS.  D.   k  CO 284 

EAST  ASIATIC   COMPANY 319 

ELLERMAN'S  WILSON  LINE 236 

ELWELL,  JAMES  W.  &  CO.,  INC 267 

EMERY,    JOHN   M 233 

EXPORT  S.  S.  CORPORATION 317 

FEDERAL  COMPOSITION  &  PAINT  CO 248 

FEDERAL  SHIPBUILDING  COMPANY 201 

FERRIS,    THEODORE   E 295 

FLETCHER,  W.  &  A.  COMPANY 230 

FRENCH  LINE  ( COMPAGNIE  GENERALE  TRANSATLANTIQUE)  170 

FUNCH,   EDYE   &   CO 190 

FURNESS,    WITHY   &    CO 300 

GARCIA  &  DIAZ 268 

GENERAL    ELECTRIC    COMPANY 218 

GRACE,  W.  R.  &  CO 224 

GREAT  LAKES  DREDGE  &  DOCK  CO 251 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

{Continued) 


A 


XJ 


-e- 


HAMBURG-AMERICAN  LINE 299 

HARRIS,  MAGILL  &  CO 263 

HOBOKEN  LAND  &  IMPROVEMENT  CO 290 

HOFFMAN,    JOHN    E 314 

HOLLAND-AMERICA   LINE 242 

HOULDER,   WEIR  &  BOYD 292 

INTERNATIONAL   FREIGHTING   CORP 319 

INTERNATIONAL   MERCANTILE    MARINE    CO 150 

ISHERWOOD,   SIR  JOSEPH 198 

KERR   STEAMSHIP   COMPANY 169 

KLEPPE    &    CO 206 

KOKUSAI   RISEN   KAISHA ...  296 

LAMPORT   &    HOLT    .  210 

LAVERIE,    ROBERT    H 209 

LEARY,   DANIEL  F 305 

LEE    &    SIMMONS 277 

LLOYD   SABAUDO 221 

LORD  DRY  DOCK  CORPORATION 255 

MALLORY,    C.  D.   &   CO 285 

MERRITT  &  CHAPMAN  DERRICK  &  WRECKING  CO.    .        .        .  306 

MEXICAN    PETROLEUM    CORPORATION 207 

MITSUI   &   COMPANY 310 

MOORE,   BENJAMIN   &   CO 185 

MOORE   &   MCCORMACK   CO 280 

MORGAN  LINE,    (SOUTHERN   PACIFIC   COMPANY)  .         .         .  212 

MUNSON  STEAMSHIP  LINE 234 

NATIONAL   STEAM  NAVIGATION   CO 313 

N.  Y.  CANAL  &  GREAT  LAKES  CORP 294 

NEW   YORK   CENTRAL  R.   R. MARINE  DEPT 238 

NEW  YORK  &  CUBA  MAIL  S.  S.  CO 208 

NEW  YORK  &  PORTO  RICO  S.  S.  CO 252 

NIPPON  YUSEN  KAISHA 282 

XI 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

[Continued) 


XIXOX,   LEAVIS 177 

XORTH    GERM  AX   LLOYD 271 

XORTOX,  LILLY  &  CO 185 

XORWEGIAX-AMERICAX    LIXE 260 

ORE   STEAMSHIP  CORPORATIOX 316 

ORIEXTAL   XAVIGATIOX   CO 279 

OSAKA    SHOSEX    KAISHA 309 

PACIFIC   STEAM   XAVIGATIOX   CO 262 

PAXAMA  R.  R.  STEAMSHIP  LIXE 293 

PAX  AMERICAN  PETROLEUM  &  TRAXSPORT  CO.         .         .         .  207 

PEABODY,    HEXRY   W.   &   CO 210 

PERSHIXG  SQUARE  HOTELS 226 

PIERCE   BROTHERS,   IXC 222 

PITOU,   SPIRE   &   CO 197 

POLLOCK,   WALTER   B 238 

PORT  OF  NEWARK 174 

POTTER,  CHARLES  H 192 

POUCH  TERMIXAL  243 

RADIO  CORPORATIOX  OF  AMERICA 235 

RICHARD,  C.  B.  &  CO 236 

ROOSEVELT  STEAMSHIP  CO 322 

ROYAL  IXSURAXCE   CO 314 

ROYAL  MAIL  STEAM  PACKET  CO 254 

SCANDIN A VI AX- AMERICAN   LIXE 193 

SINCLAIR  XAVIGATIOX   CO 196 

SMITH,  R.   A.   C 127" 

SMITH  &  SOXS,  SIR  WM.  REARDOX 278 

SXARE   CORPORATIOX,   THE   FREDERICK 275 

SOUTHERX   PACIFIC   CO.'s   MORGAX  LIXE 212 

SPAXISH   ROYAL  MAIL  LIXE 320 

STAXDARD    OIL    COMPAXY,    XEW    JERSEY 157 

STAXDARD    OIL    COMPAXY,    XEW    YORK 155 

XII 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 

{Continued) 


/^\ 


\I 


STATEN  ISLAND  SHIPBUILDING  CO 166 

STEERS,    HENRY,    INC 302 

STEPHANIDIS,   STEPHEN   D 297 

STERLING,  GEORGE  W 241 

STRAY   STEAMSHIP   CORPORATION  311 

SUBMARINE  BOAT  CORPORATION 174 

SUSQUEHANNA   STEAMSHIP   CO 191 

SUZUKI  &   COMPANY 296 

SWEDISH    AMERICAN   LINE 249 

TALBOT,    BIRD    &    CO 274 

THREE   STAR  LINE 318 

TIDE   WATER   OIL   COMPANY 229 

TIEBOUT,    W.    &   J 283 

TOD,    ROBT.    J 247 

TODD  SHIPYARDS  CORPORATION 135 

TOYO   RISEN   KAISHA 305 

TRACY,    MARCUS    H 292 

TRANSMARINE  CORPORATION 174 

UNION    SULPHUR    CO 315 

UNION  TRANSPORT  COMPANY 259 

UNITED  AMERICAN  LINES 298 

UNITED  FRUIT  CO 182 

U.   S.   &  AUSTRALIA  LINES 298 

UNITED  STATES  LLOYDS 220 

VACUUM  OIL   COMPANY 246 

VULCAN  IRON  WORKS 206 

WESSEL,   DUVAL  &  CO 312 

WEST  INDIA  S.  S.  CO 276 

WHITLOCK   CORDAGE   COMPANY 308 

WHITNEY,  J.  F.  &  CO 252 

WILLIAMS,    WILLIAM   E 244 

YBARRA  LINE 288 

XIII 


Requiescat  in  pace 

& 

Co  t^oge  of  our  craft  t&Ijoge  libcg 

tyafoe  been  lo0t  fn  t^e  pursuit 

of  our    calling   it   te   but 

ourg   to   ^onor   in   our 

fumble   *way   and   to 

beseech  t^e  <£>reat 

}Mlot  t^e?  nta^ 

at  la 0 1  finti 

Safe  refuge  in 

t^e  $ort  of 

eternal 

^eace. 


T7 


XIV 


Hn  iftemortam 

(New  York  Pilots) 

Henry  Budd 

Lost    from  pilot   boat   Yankee   No.   7. 

Dec. 

3, 

1852 

Robert  Curtis 

Lost    from   pilot   boat   Yankee   No.   7. 

Dec. 

3, 

1852 

Robert  B.  Mitchell 

Froze  to  death  when  pilot  boat  E.   K.  Col- 
lins  No.  11  went  ashore. 

Jan. 

10, 

1856 

Thomas    Freeborne 

Froze    to    death    when    bark    John    Minturn 
was   wrecked   on   Jersey   beach. 

Feb. 

14, 

1856 

Thomas  Orr 

Lost    when    pilot    boat    Washington    No.    2 
went  down. 

Jan. 

18, 

1857 

John-    O'Keefe 

Lost  from  pilot  boat  Westervelt  No.  19. 

Apl. 

20, 

1858 

John  Fredell 

Lost    when    brig    Christiania    was    sunk    by 
steamer   North    American. 

Dec. 

27, 

1866 

James  M.  Clark 

Drowned  from  bark  J.  Sargent. 

Oct. 

29, 

1874 

Howard   van   Pelt 

Killed  when   hawser   parted,   boarding  bark 
Urkaine. 

Apl. 

22, 

1878 

Fred   Baudier 

Drowned  from  pilot  boat    Isaac  Webb    No.  8. 

May 

17, 

1879 

Alfred  Baudier 

Died   from  heart  disease  on   board   steamer 
Nevada. 

Jun. 

18, 

1879 

John   Campbell 

Lost   when    pilot   boat   Ariel    Patterson   was 
sunk. 

Mar. 

5, 

1883 

Thomas   Metcalfe 

Lost  when  steamer  Alaska  sunk  pilot  boat 
Columbia 

Dec. 

3, 

1883 

Ralph  Noble 

Lost  when  steamer  Alaska  sunk   pilot  boat 
Columbia 

Dec. 

3, 

1883 

Christopher  Wolfe 

Lost  when  steamer  Alaska  sunk  pilot  boat 
Columbia 

Dec. 

3, 

1883 

Charles    Arnold 

Lost  when  steamer  Alaska  sunk  pilot  boat 
Columbia 

Dec. 

3, 

1883 

Walter  A.  Reddin 

Lost    from    pilot   boat    Francis    A.    Perkins 
No.  13. 

Jan. 

24, 

1887 

John  Martino 

Lost    at   sea   when    pilot    boat    Enchantress 
No.   18  went  down   with  all  hands  in  the 
blizzard 

Mar. 

13, 

1888 

John  E.  Johnsox 

Lost   at   sea   when    pilot    boat   Enchantress 
No.   18  went  down   with   all  hands  in  the 
blizzard 

Mar. 

13, 

1888 

XV 


3n  Jftemortam 


Daniel  V.  Jones 


(New  York  Pilots)  Continued 

Lost  at  sea  when  pilot  boat  Enchantress 
No.  18  went  down  with  all  hands  in  the 
blizzard 


Henry  W.  Seguine     Lost   at    sea   when    pilot    boat    Enchantress 

No.   18  went  down  with  all  hands  in  the 
blizzard 

Albert  C.  Mai.comb    Lost  from  pilot  boat  Charlotte  Webb  No.  5 

John  Handran  Lost  from  pilot  boat   Bateman  No.   11. 


John   L.  Canvin 
Edward  Collins 

James  Smith 

Henry  A.  Devere 

William  Murphy     ~) 
Thomas  Penna 
Patrick  Walsh 
Francis  Kelly 
George  Sampson 
Walter    Berry  J 


Lost  from  bark  Edward  Cushing,  being 
washed  overboard. 

Lost  from  pilot  boat  Washington  No.  22, 
when  crushed  between  tugboat  and  bark 
he  was  boarding. 

Drowned  while  boarding  steamer  Van  Dyk 
from   pilot   boat   Edward   Cooper  No.   20. 

Lost  while  boarding  steamer  Banan  from 
pilot    boat   Fannie   No.   17. 


Lost  at  sea  when  pilot  boat  Warren  No.  5 
disappeared  and  was  never  heard  from 
a i>a in    on 


Mar.  13,  1888 

Mar.  13,  1888 
Mar.  18,  1889 
Apl.  15,  1889 

Jan.  22,  1890 

Mar.  5,  1890 
Feb.  27,  1892 
Apl.  13,  1894 


Gideon  Maf^s 
Jolin  J.  Canvin 


Died    from   heart   failure  on   board  steamer 
Curio. 

Died   from    heart   failure   on   board  steamer 
Idaho 


Thomas   F.    Murphy  Died    from   heart    failure  on  board   steamer 

Allianca 


Thomas  Shields 


James  Van   Pelt 


Drowned  while  being  taken  out  to  steamer 
Talisman  in  a  yawl,  when  yawl  was 
swamped. 

Lost  while  boarding  Standard  Oil  tank  No. 
95,  having  fallen  from  ladder. 


Feb.  5,  1895 

May  19,  1895 

Sep.  29,  1897 

Sep.  30,  1901 

Dec.  14,  1907 

Sep.  19,  1915 


XVI 


Jn  JtfUmortam 

(New  Jersey  Pilots) 

McKxight  Smith 

Drowned    at    sea    when    pilot    boat    Sylph 
foundered   with   all   hands   during  a   ter- 
rific blizzard. 

Winter 

of  1851 

Theopholis   Beebe 

Died  of  heart   disease   on   pilot   boat   Mys- 
tery. 

Winter 

of  1866 

Joseph  Hizzey 

Drowned   when    bark   he   was   piloting  Mas 
driven    ashore    at    Egg    Harbor    during 
a  heavy  Northeast  gale. 

Winter 

of  1873 

William  Lucy 

Drowned    while    boarding    vessel    in    heavy 

gale     when     yawl    was     thrown     against 
vessel's   side   and   capsized. 

Winter 

of  1875 

Thomas  Leach 

Washed    overboard    from    pilot    boat    dur- 
ing  severe    gale. 

Winter 

of  1880 

Richard  Browx 

The  man  who  piloted  the  America  to  suc- 
cess    in     the     first     International     yacht 
race.      Died    ashore    from    the   effects    of 
exposure  aboard  ship  in  line  of  duty. 

Winter 

of  1884 

William  Warxeb 

Washed  overboard   from  pilot  boat  James 
Gordon   Bennett. 

Oct. 

16,  1884 

Gustave  Texxesox 

Died     of    heart     failure     on     board     pilot 
boat  David  T.   Leahy. 

Nov. 

15,  1897 

Joiix  Godbey 
Joiix  M.  Lexxax 
Harry  Mix 

\  Drowned   when    pilot    boat   James    Gordon 
I      Bennett   was   run   into   and  sunk    by   the 
)       steamship    Alene. 

August 

1901 

Frank  Neilsojt 

Died   from   injuries    received   when    steam- 
ship   Monterey    ran   into   and   sunk   pilot 
boat    Hermit. 

Nov., 

1903 

William  C.  Hall 

Died   from  heart   failure   on   board   steam- 
ship  Muncaster  Castle. 

January 

-,     1908 

XVII 


THEOPHOLIS  BEEBE 

One  of  the  first  New  Jersey  pilots.     Died  of  heart  disease 
on  pilot  boat  Mystery  in  the  winter  of  I860 


HOWARD  VAN  PELT 

Killed  when  hawser  parted  boarding  bark  Ukraine  April  22,  1878 


GIDEON  MAPES 
Died  from  heart  failure  on  board  S.  S.  Cufic  May  19,  1895 


JAMES  H.  VAX  PELT 
Drowned  while  boarding  Standard  Oil  tanker  September  19,  1915 


<NEW  YORK  "PILOTS 

JANUARY,  1922 


ACTIVE 


Anderson,  Andrew 
Akerman,  C.  B. 
Arnold,  H. 
Anderson,  H.  C. 
Beebe,  Geo.  W. 
Beebe,  Franklin  B. 
Baeszler,  A. 
Breuer,  W.  F.  C, 
Bellmonth,  John 
Bigley,  Jos.  A. 
Brinkmann,  Wm.  B. 
Berry,  J.  F. 
Bayer,  Chas. 
Butler,  F.  A. 
Beinert,  D.  L. 
Braun,  E.,  Jr. 
Cramer,  Geo. 
Cannavale,  A. 
Cramer,  Frank 
Canvin,  Jas.  A. 
esquirol,  c.  m. 
Ferrie,  Wm. 
Fendt,  F.  W. 
Feldhusen,  M. 
Grant,   Wm. 

GlRDLEY,    A. 


Halliday,  W.  E. 
Huus,  C.  M. 
Hauffman,  John  A. 
Ireland,  Wm.  S. 
Johnson,  H.  C. 
Kiernan,  J.  J. 
Keely,  Wm.  F. 
Mitchell,  Elvin  E. 
Murphy,  A.  H. 
Madigan,  C.  J. 
Marks,  Thos.   H. 
Miller,  H.  A. 
McLaughlin,  Wm.  S. 
McCauley,  T.  J. 
Murphy,  J.  A. 
Miller,   H.   F. 
McIntyre,  H.  A. 
Miller,  F.  W. 
Mahlmann,  H. 
McKernan,  A.  F. 
Nelson,  L.  C. 
Onasch,  C.  F. 
Pratt,  J.  E. 
Peterson,  Gustaf 
Port,  T.  J. 
Yates,  Fras.  J. 


Peterson,  Frank 
Peterson,  A.  H. 
Peterson,   Robert 
Roche,  Nicholas 
Reiersen,  M. 
Ronayne,  John 
Riker,  Vincent  J. 
Roche,  A.  S. 
Stoffreiden,  Oscar 
Sullivan,  Michael 
Sullivan,  M.  Edgar 
Shooks,  J.  H. 
Swainson,  J.  B. 
Seeth,  Geo.  H. 
Sullivan,  J.  W. 
Schwarz,  L.  E. 
Swainson,  G.  F. 
Turnure,  E.  W. 
Torgeson,  Thos. 
Van  Pelt,  Frank  P. 
Winters,  Ed  C. 
Waugh,  R.  J. 
Waldie,  G.  J. 
Wood,  W.  K. 
Wood,  H.  W. 
Winters,  Ed.  C,  Jr. 


Qualey,  W.  M. 
Akerman,  John  B. 
Braun,  Edward 
Cochran,  J.  B. 
Dougherty,  Thos. 


RETIRED 

Heath,  A.  B. 
Russell,  J.  J. 
Johnson,  A.  S. 
McDonald,  M. 
Nicolay,  D.  S. 
Winters,  Phil.  H. 


Parker,  Wm. 
Scheubner,  Chas. 
Seeth,  Geo. 
Stoffreiden,  O. 
Van  Albert,  Ivan 


xxii 


'NEW  JERSEY  PILOTS 

JANUARY,  1922 


Akehman,  John  W. 
Ashcraft,  John  A. 
Beebe,  Allen 
Beebe,  Alonzo 
Beebe,  Chas. 
Beebe,  Howard 
Beebe,  Jas.  D. 
Beggs,  Samuel  C. 
Bigley,  Richard 
Carr,  Marcus  A. 
Clarke,  Henry  M. 
Crocker,  Wm.  J. 
Devereaux,  Chas.  D. 


ACTIVE 

Devereaux,  Wm.  S. 
Earle,  Walter 
Egan,  Frank  T. 
Hall,  John  R. 
Hall,  John  L. 
Hall,  Warren  A. 
Hopkins,  John  F. 
Hurrell,  Wm.  J. 
Kissenberth,  Geo. 
Lowe,  Wm.  A. 
Lowe,  Wm.  H. 
Lennan,  Fred  B. 
Lyons,  John  A. 
Wood,   Jos.   T. 


Melville,  Jas.   A. 
Madigan,  Geo.  J. 
McCarthy,  John  F. 
McCarthy,  J.  E. 
Mitchell,  Wm.  A. 
Oldmixon,  Geo. 
Oldmixon,  Leon  E. 
Petersen,    John 
Sloat,  Ernest  H. 
Wall,  Frank  D. 
Warner,  Chas.  E. 
Wells,  Jos.   S. 
Winters,  Phil  E. 


Behrens,  Richard 

BuRRETT,    THOS.    F. 

Crocker,  Wm. 


'RETIRED 

Lewis,  Wm. 
Nichols,  Edward  P. 
Shields,  Wilmer 


Wall,  Nicolai  A. 
Wood,  Nathan 
Cooper,    Stephen    H. 


\J 

XXIII 


He 


9   *■ 

in     e 
§1 


&i 


THE  FIRST  PILOT 

IT  IS  a  long  cry  .since  the  day  that  Usoous,  a  Phoenician,  strad- 
dled a  log  and  found  that  he  could  safely  float  over  the  waters 

and  the  present  time,  when  many  millions  of  humans  cross  the 
oceans  and  the  seas  annually  in  .safety  and  comfort.  The  Phoenician 
legend  has  it  that,  long  before  the  foundation  of  the  maritime  city 
of  'Pyre,  prior  to  1200  li.  ('.,  Usoous  cut  down  a  tree,  cleared  it  of 
its  branches,  seated  himself  upon  it  and  "rocked  safely  upon  the 
waves."  Usoous  unquestionably  was  his  own  pilot  and  probably 
cared  little  whither  he  went,  as  long  as  he  was  on  his  way. 

Shortly  after  the  venture  of  Usoous,  so  runs  the  legend,  one 
Chrysor  combined  a  number  of  logs  into  a  raft  and  was  the  first 
man  to  navigate  the  waters  for  trade  and  fishing.  This  was,  un- 
doubtedly, the  birth  of  maritime  commerce  but  there  are  no  rec- 
ords of  any  systematic  effort  to  bring  the  rough  craft  of  those 
ancient  days  safely  in  and  out  of  the  primitive  harbors  and  even 
legendary  lore  fails  to  make  note  of  any  ancient  mariner  making  it 
a  profession  to  guard  the  safety  of  his  fellowmen  in  and  about  the 
treacherous  coasts  of  the  pre-historic  Phoenician   country. 

When  Semiramis,  imperious  Queen  of  Assyria  conquered  the  fleet 
of  Staurabates,  -1000  "ships"  strong,  with  her  own  fleet  of  3000 
"vessels,"  along  about  1965  B.  C,  we  are  at  first  inclined  to  believe 
that  Assyria's  militant  sovereign  must  surely  have  had  a  host  of 
expert  pilots  to  guide  her  great  flotilla  against  the  fleet  of  Staura- 
bates-— until  we  learn  that  Semiramis  caused  her  own  fleet  to  be 
transplanted  on  the  backs  of  camels  from  the  shores  of  Syria  to  the 
banks  of  the  Indus ;  and  the  thought  naturally  conies  up  that  the 
entire  fleet  of  the  Assyrian  monarch  could  be  comfortably  stowed 
away  in  the  capacious  holds  of  one  of  our  modern  leviathan  cargo 
carriers. 

The  very  earliest  record  of  a  professional  pilot  comes,  aptly 
enough,  from  the  Netherlands,  that  little  country  which,  by  tradition 
and  history,  probably  stands  second  to  none  in  maritime  activity 
and  valorous  deeds  at  sea.  It  is  from  the  Dutch  words  "pijl"  and 
*iloocV  that  we  get  the  modern  word  "pilot."  The  first  Dutch  word 
means  pole  and,  with  the  Dutch,  stands  for  everything  vertically 
straight.  The  second  word,  it  may  be  easily  surmised,  means  "lead." 
And  so  we  get  the  early  definition,  set  by  the  Hollanders,  of  a  lead 
that  is  sent  down  in  an  absolutely  straight  line  to  ascertain  the 
depth  of  the  waters  at  any  given  point. 

For  ages  the  navigators  of  the  Old  World  had  been  familiar  with 
the  plumb  and  sounding  line — even  though  we  cannot  state,  even 
approximately,  the  date  when  the  plumb  and  sounding  line's  efficacy 

—  1  — 


w 

r\ 

r~\ 

r\ 

r~\ 

r\ 

VJ 

-6- 

V7 

^ 

VJ 

VJ 

u 

-6- 

fr 

-6-6- 

-6- 

\J 

\J 

\J 

\J 

\J 

was  first  discovered  by  a  navigator — but  it  was  not  until  Frans 
Naerebout,  born  in  Gees,  Province  of  Zeeland,  in  1749,  announced 
himself  as  being  a  professional  "pijl  loads"  ready  to  take  the 
sailing  ships  of  his  day  in  and  out  of  the  harbors  of  Holland,  the 
depths  of  which  he  had  studied  until  he  knew  the  location  of  every 
danger  spot,  that  pilotage,  as  such,  became  a  science  and  an  art. 

From  that  day  to  this  the  work  of  the  pilot  has  been  surrounded 
by  a  fascinating  mysticism  so  that,  even  in  this  blase  modern  age, 
the  coming  aboard  or  the  "dropping"  of  the  pilot  remains  a  feature 
of  a  voyage  that  even  the  seasoned  members  of  a  freight  vessel's 
crew  never  fail  to  take  the  keenest  interest  in.  On  a  passenger  ship 
the  coming  or  going  of  the  pilot  is  something  of  an  event  with  every 
passenger,  even  the  most  experienced  ocean  traveler. 

The  Dutch  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  the  General  Welfare 
has  reared  an  appreciative  memorial  over  the  grave  of  Frans  Naere- 
bout, the  original  professional  pilot,  who  had  been  offered  a  huge 
salary  by  the  British  government  to  serve  under  the  British  flag  but 
who  had  refused  the  tempting  bait  and  remained  loyal  to  his  own 
beloved  tri-color  until  his  peaceful  end  in  1818. 

Our  own  piloting  history  dates  back  from  the  time  of  Hendrik 
Hudson,  who  undoubtedly  used  his  "pijl  lood"  earnestly  and  contin- 
uously from  the  time  that  he  sighted  the  then  virginal  slopes  of 
Atlantic  Highlands  until  he  had  passed  through  the  lower  bay,  the 
Narrows,  the  upper  bay  and  finally  cast  his  anchor  somewhere  in  the 
Hudson  River.  There  was  no  welcoming  greeting  from  a  pilot  boat 
off  Sandy  Hook  for  Hendrik  and  so  the  first  scientific  casting  of  the 
lead  in  the  waters  about  what  later  became  New  York  Harbor  was 
done  by  the  intrepid  Dutch  navigator  from  a  little  lead-heaving 
platform  off  the  rail  of  the  famous  Halve  Maan. 

The  earliest  known  American  pilots  were  the  Seawards,  John  and 
James,  although  the  exact  period  of  the  Seawards'  activities  is  a  bit 
too  far  back  even  for  the  fairly  complete  records  of  the  local  pilot 
association  or  the  records  in  the  great  libraries.  The  first  Seawards 
came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  which  probably  led  to  their  becoming 
imbued  with  the  idea  that  a  pilot  on  the  New  World  shore  would  be 
a  good  thing  to  have  around  for  the  boats  from  England  that  were 
expected  to  follow  the  Mayflower. 

One  of  the  earliest  recorded  instances  where  American  pilots 
followed  their  profession  was  during  the  time  of  President  George 
Washington  where  it  is  stated  that  the  first  President  "arrived  at 
Elizabethtown,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Congress  deputation  and 
other    dignitaries    upon    the    occasion    of    his    second    inauguration. 


2  -  - 


w 

u 

"6**6* 

-e- 

1  \ 

u 

^  \.  -/  ^ 

w 

w 

-(/- 

/   . 

,  /  . 

^ 

if 

u 

"u" 

"w" 

^  1 '"V 

V7 

\  1 

These  all,  with  Genera]  Washington,  embarked  in  the  barge  manned 
by  thirteen  pilots  in  white  uniforms,  commanded  by  Commodore 
Nicholson  and  with  .John  Randall,  as  coxswain,  and  proceeded  in 
stately  fashion  across  the  bay  to  the  Battery  where  the  citizenry 
welcomed  them  with  loud  acclaim." 

There  is  no  authentic  record  of  any  pilot  keeping  a  lookout  for 
ships  off  Sandy  Hook  in  the  early  days  of  the  Colonies,  although 
it  is  believed  that  the  British,  quick  to  see  the  advantage  of  an 
experienced  harbor  pilot  such  as  Frans  Naerabout  had  proved  him- 
self to  be,  undoubtedly  established  a  piloting  system  in  the  port  of 
New  York  after  they  had  changed  its  name  from  that  of  Nieuw 
Amsterdam,  even  though  these  pilots  may  not  have  been  organized 
as  a  body  of  men  under  government  or  local  control.  In  fact,  it  is 
doubtful  if  pilotage  in  New  York  Harbor  became  a  really  organized 
profession  until  1837.  Until  that  year  the  best  available  records 
seem  to  indicate  that  every  pilot  worked  for  himself — a  case  of  every 
man  for  himself  and  the  devil  take  the  hindmost.  The  records  do 
show  that,  in  1811,  there  were  ten  Sandy  Hook  pilots  on  the  job 
as  against  but  six  in  1822,  plain  evidence  that  there  was  no  increase 
in  piloting  activity  since  the  war  of  1812. 

There  was  not  then,  as  there  is  today,  any  form  of  compulsory 
pilotage  and  there  was  not,  therefore,  any  inducement  for  efficiency 
except  the  free  competition  between  the  rival  pilots  for  jobs  of 
piloting  which  remained  for  decision  solely  with  the  masters  of  in- 
coming ships.  Before  regular  pilots  began  their  work  the  masters  of 
incoming  ships,  when  they  wanted  a  pilot,  used  to  hail  a  fisherman 
and  take  him  on  board  to  act  as  pilot  into  the  harbor. 


T7 


\&\ 


—  3  — 


-s: 


£ 


< 

Pi 
O 

x 


^ 

T 

"^ 

c> 

>* 

ao 

"*— 

e 
<$-> 

-*-a 

- 

<■>• 

o 

»•— 

^ 

•  -* 

Si, 


&5 


FIRST  PILOT'S  LICENSE 

THE  year  1837  saw  the  first  regularly  appointed  pilots,  under 
the  control  of  a  State  Commission,  by  virtue  of  an  act  passed 
by  the  New  Jersey  Legislature,  but  long  before  that  the  State 
of  New  York  licensed  experienced  mariners  to  do  piloting  in  New 
York  Harbor  although  not  under  the  control  of  any  commission — 
as  witness  the  picturesquely-worded  license  given  one  Zachary  Hurler, 
who  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  duly  licensed  pilot  in  New 
York  waters.  Says  this  first  license:  "The  people  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  by  the  Grace  of  God  free  and  independent,  to  Zachary 
Hurler,  mariner,  greeting:  Know  ye  that,  we  being  well  assured  of  the 
ability,  skill  and  care  and  circumspection  of  said  Zachary  Hurler,  we 
have  nominated,  constituted  and  appointed  and  by  these  presents 
nominate,  constitute  and  appoint  you,  the  said  Zachary  Rufler,  to  be 
one  of  the  branch  pilots  of  the  Port  of  New  Yrork  to  and  from  Sandy 
Hook  from  and  to  the  said  port.  You,  the  said  Zachary  Hurler, 
truly  behaving  yourself  in  all  things,  as  becometh  in  the  service  and 
station  of  a  pilot  and  observing,  doing,  fulfilling,  keeping  and  per- 
forming all  and  singular  those  things  which,  on  your  part  and  be- 
half as  a  pilot  aforesaid  are  and  ought  to  be  observed,  done,  ful- 
filled and  kept,  and  that  in  and  by  all  things  according  to  the  direc- 
tions, true  intent  and  meaning  of  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  our 
said  State  of  New  Y'ork,  passed  the  14th  day  of  April,  1784,  entitled 
an  Act  for  the  regulation  of  pilots  and  pilotage  for  the  Port  of 
New  York  and  for  other  purposes  therein  mentioned;  to  have  and  to 
hold  the  said  office  of  branch  pilot  for  the  Port  of  New  York  to- 
gether with  the  fees,  salaries,  perquisites  and  advantages  thereunto 
In  testimony  whereof  we  have  caused  these,  our  letters 
to  be  made  patent  and  the  Great  Seal  of  our  State  to  be  hereunto 
affixed.  Witness  our  greatly  and  well-beloved  George  Clinton, 
Esquire,  Governor  of  our  said  State,  Governor  and  Commander-in- 
chief  of  all  the  militia  and  Admiral  of  the  Navy  of  the  same  by  and 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  our  Consul  of  appointment  of  our 
City  of  New  York  the  22nd  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four  and  of  our  independ- 
ence the  eighth." 

From  1805  to  1836  'there  was  little  system  in  the  pilotage  in 
New  York  Harbor.  The  winter  of  1835-1836  had  been  a  particu- 
larly disastrous  one  for  shipping  along  the  coast.  One  winter's 
afternoon  during  that  period  two  immigrant  ships — sailers,  of  course 
—had  worked  in  close  to  the  Sandy  Hook  lightship.  The  wind 
was  east-southeast,  blowing  very  heavy  and  approaching  a  gale. 
The  two  packets  hove  to  off  the  lightship  with  signals  flying  for  a 
pilot,  firing  guns  to  further  attract  the  port  scouts,  whose  boats 


U 

\J 

r\. 

^^r 

-6- 

\J 

\J 

r\. 

^ 

W 

-e- 

w 

u 

w 

V.7 

U 

were  anchored  well  inside  Sandy  Hook  bay.  As  has  been  stated, 
it  was  an  off  year  for  pilot  efficiency  in  New  York  Harbor  and  the 
two  immigrant  packets  were  unable  to  get  a  pilot  to  bring  them  into 
the  Narrows.  The  captains  of  the  two  immigrant  ships  had  hove  to 
with  heads  offshore  and,  not  being  able  to  beat  to  windward,  were 
finally  forced  upon  the  Long  Island  shore.  One  of  the  ships  went 
aground  to  the  eastward  of  Rockaway  and  the  other  to  the  eastward 
of  what  is  now  known  as  Jones's  Inlet.  Each  ship  had  from  150  to 
300  passengers  and  by  the  break  of  the  next  day  nearly  every  soul 
on  board  had  perished.  This  catastrophe,  brought  about  by  the 
absence  of  direct  control  and  organized  management  of  the  pilots 
then  plying  their  trade,  caused  the  appointment  of  the  Commission 
of  Pilotage  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  with  power  to  examine  and 
appoint  men  qualified  to  act  as  either  full  branch  or  deputy  pilots 
for  the  Ports  of  Newark,  Perth  Amboy  and  the  Harbor  of  New 
York  by  way  of  Sandy  Hook.  The  first  group  of  pilots  to  be 
appointed  under  this  act  consisted  of  Theophilus  Beebe,  a  fisherman 
who  was  running  a  smack  out  of  Fulton  Market,  New  York ;  Lyman 
Beebe,  Clinton  Beebe  and  James  Chapman,  all  of  whom  were  ap- 
pointed as  full  branch  pilots  and  Nicholas  Van  Gelder,  Robert 
Pease  McKnight  Smith  and  two  others,  who  were  made  deputy 
pilots.  These  men  used  a  small  fishing  smack,  temporarily,  until  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  built  them  a  more  suitable  craft  and  that  boat, 
when  completed,  was  the  largest  pilot  boat  ever  placed  in  commis- 
sion ;  too  big,  in  fact,  to  be  handled  easily  for  the  work  she  was 
expected  to  do. 

So  in  1837,  we  find  twenty-three  pilots  working  at  the  Sandy 
Hook  station,  in  four  pilot  boats.  Three  of  the  boats  cruised  about 
while  the  fourth  remained  as  a  "station  boat"  in  close  proximity  to 
the  lightship.  It  was  necessary  then,  as  it  is  now,  to  maintain  such 
a  "station  boat"  at  the  lightship  in  order  to  insure  the  bringing 
back  ashore  of  pilots  who  have  taken  ships  out  of  the  harbor  and 
who  are  "dropped"  after  the  lightship  is  safely  passed.  Otherwise 
there  would  be  no  assurance  that  a  pilot  could  be  taken  off  the 
outgoing  ship.  Besides  these  twenty-three  sturdy  New  Yorkers, 
nine  faithful  men  of  the  sea  went  out  in  the  boat  built  for  them  by 
the  State  of  New  Jersey,  making  a  total  representation  at  Sandy 
Hook  of  thirty-two  pilots,  with  competition  running  strong  since 
the  advent  of  the  Jerseyites. 


T7 


\S\ 


—  6  — 


s 

c — 

2    > 

s    Z 
S.    2 

c 

> 


«2 


s    z 

Q 


<5 

o 

H 

1X1 

< 

i— i 
Q 

< 
C 

pq 


0 


D 

&H 


CRUISING  FS£<R  OUT  TO  SEA 

FOR  .some  reason  or  other  the  merchants  of  New  York  City  were 
not  satisfied  with  the  manner  in  which  the  pilots  chose  to  con- 
duct their  activities,  although  the  records  of  the  day  showed  a 
large  number  of  daring  feats  of  seamanship  and  disregard  of  per- 
sonal risk  on  the  part  of  the  pilots  then  on  duty. 

It  thus  came  about  that,  in  1845,  these  merchants  demanded 
that  all  pilots  cruise  well  outside  of  Sandy  Hook  and  supplemented 
their  ukase  by  appointing  seventeen  pilots  quite  independent  of  the 
regularly-appointed  State  pilots,  thus  inaugurating  a  three-cornered 
competition  which  kept  matters  going  at  a  lively  pace  until  the 
appointment  of  the  first  New  York  State  Pilot  Commissioners  in 
June,  1845,  just  about  nine  years  after  the  creation  of  a  similar 
commission  by  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

New  York  State  went  New  Jersey  one  better  by  legalizing  an 
extra  pilotage  fee — of  one-quarter  of  the  total  pilotage  on  a  vessel 
—where  the  services  of  the  pilot  were  accepted  fifteen  miles  or  more 
outside  of  Sandy  Hook.  It  was  not  long  before  the  pilots  began 
cruising  far  beyond  this  fifteen-mile  radius,  often  as  far  as  a  point 
below  Sable  Island,  and  the  logs  of  the  old  pilots  of  the  late  forties 
show  innumerable  entries  of  such  extra  pilotage  allowed  on  "pick- 
ups" far  out  in  the  Atlantic. 

The  }Tear  1860  saw  seventeen  New  York  pilot  boats  in  service 
(the  so-called  merchant  pilots  having  since  been  merged  with  the 
regular  New  York  organization),  manned  by  forty-two  pilots;  and 
four  New  Jersey  pilot  boats,  accommodating  thirty  New  Jersey 
pilots. 

That  even  in  the  old  days  of  the  merchant  marine  the  work  of 
the  pilot  was  considered  as  being  shrouded  in  a  delightful  mystery 
of  the  deep  is  evidenced  by  the  articles  of  apprenticeship  issued  to 
one  John  Kelso,  which  read :  "Witnesseth,  that  John  Kelso,  now 
aged  sixteen  years,  hath  put  himself  and  by  these  presents  by  and 
with  the  consent  of  Henry  Kelso,  his  father,  by  his  sealing  and 
delivering,  hath  put  himself  and  by  these  presents  doth  voluntarily 
and  of  his  own  free  will  and  accord  put  himself  apprentice  to  John 
Funck  of  the  City  of  New  York,  to  learn  the  art  trade  and  mystery 
of  a  pilot,  for  the  piloting  of  vessels  to  and  from  the  City  of  New 
York  by  Sandy  Hook  and  after  the  manner  of  an  apprentice  to 
serve  from  the  day  of  the  date  hereof,  for  and  during  the  and  until 
the  full  end  and  term  of  five  years,  next  ensuing,  during  which  time 
the  said  apprentice  his  master  faithfully  shall  serve,  his  secrets 
keep,  his  lawful  commands  everywhere  readily  obey ;  he  shall  do  no 
damage  to  his  master,  nor  see  it  done  by  others  without  letting  or 

—  9  — 


m 


xj 


XJ 


^c\ 


XJ 


AX 


XJ 


AX 


XJ 


A\ 


XJ 


XJ 


,/~\ 


XJ 


MMMmmmMM 


AX 

XJ 


AX 
XJ 


AX. 

u 


giving  notice  thereof  to  his  said  master  *  *  *  he  shall  not  commit 
matrimony  within  the  said  term  and  at  cards,  dice  or  any  unlawful 
game  he  shall  not  play,  whereby  his  master  shall  have  damage,  with 
his  own  goods,  nor  the  goods  of  others,  without  license  from  his  said 
master.  He  shall  neither  buy  nor  sell ;  he  shall  not  absent  himself 
day  or  night  from  his  master's  service  without  leave,  nor  haunt  ale 
houses,  taverns  or  playhouses ;  but  in  all  things  shall  behave  himself 
as  a  faithful  apprentice  ought  to  do,  within  the  said  term.  And 
said  master  shall  use  the  utmost  of  his  endeavor  to  teach  or  cause 
to  be  taught  or  instructed  the  said  apprentice  in  the  trade  and  mys- 
tery of  a  pilot  for  the  piloting  of  vessels  to  and  from  the  City  of 
New  York,  by  Sandy  Hooke,  and  during  the  said  term  of  five  years 
shall  pay  to  said  apprentice  the  sum  of  seven  dollars  per  month 
until  the  said  apprentice  shall  be  appointed  boatkeeper,  after  which 
he  shall  pay  him  the  wages  usually  allowed  to  boatkeepers.  And 
for  the  true  performance  of  all  and  singular  the  covenants  and 
agreements  aforesaid,  said  parties  bind  themselves  each  unto  the 
other  firmly  by  these  presents.  In  witness  whereof  the  said  parties 
have,  interchangeably,  set  their  hands  and  seals  hereunto  this  eighth 
day  of  August  in  the  twenty-fifth  year  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  one." 

Thus  was  assured  the  efficiency  of  the  earliest  Sandy  Hook  pilots 
and  only  through  a  comparatively  brief  period  was  this  efficiency 
relaxed  and  then  only  because  of  the  peculiar  disorganization 
brought  about  by  the  War  of  1812. 


W 

10  — 


C 

H 

H^ 

a 

H- ; 

-— 

■o 

c^ 

►** 

ce 

^•^ 

<r+. 

n 

L  j 

C". 

X 

s^ 

C"+» 

z 


%3 


"8 


< 


H 

fa 
O 

< 
<5 


GO     *-^» 


em 


» 

« 


TRAGEDIES  FN.  THE  SERVICE 

THAT  thorough  training  for  the  position  of  Sandy  Hook  pilot 
was  essential,  is  shown  by  the  extremely  hazardous  nature  of 
the  work  the  pilots  were  continually  facing.  Between  1838  and 
1860  fifteen  pilot  boats  met  with  disaster  at  sea.  The  Franklin  was 
lost  by  being  driven  ashore  in  a  heavy  gale  and  all  hands  on  board 
perished.  The  following  year,  on  July  28th,  witnessed  the  loss,  in  a 
hurricane  of  the  pilot  boat  Gratitude,  with  the  loss  of  four  lives — 
two  pilots  and  two  seamen.  Three  years  elapsed  and  then  the  trim 
San  Jacinto  went  down  with  all  hands.  The  next  tragedy  of  the 
Sandy  Hook  men  came  with  the  driving  ashore  of  the  Mary  Ellen,  in 
the  winter  of  1844-1845,  with  the  loss  of  her  entire  complement.  The 
Jacob  Bell  went  down  in  a  gale  far  out  of  the  Hook  in  1854,  with 
all  hands  and  on  January  10,  1856,  the  Edward  K.  Collins  was 
driven  ashore  on  Fire  Island  in  a  blinding  snow  storm.  Pilot  Robert 
Mitchell  froze  to  death  on  that  tragic  tour  of  duty  while  the  boat- 
keeper,  only  just  promoted  after  a  long  apprenticeship,  the  cabin 
boy  and  the  cook  were  drowned.  The  pilot  boat  Washington  was 
lost  at  sea  with,  the  death  of  one  pilot  and  six  sailors  in  1857,  and 
the  Jacob  Westervelt  was  struck  by  the  British  steamer  Saxonia, 
270  miles  East  of  Sandy  Hook,  causing  the  death  of  one  of  her 
pilot  company. 

This  carries  us  only  to  1860.  The  next  four  years  saw  as  many 
disasters  to  the  little  schooner  yachts  that  poked  their  saucy  way 
out  of  the  Horse  Shoe  and  dared  the  elements  in  quest  of  ships  to 
be  piloted  safely  into  port. 

Then  came  the  Civil  War  and  all  its  tragedies.  It  was  not  long 
after  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumpter  that  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  felt 
the  full  weight  of  war's  merciless  hand.  The  official  log  of  the 
Sandy  Hook  pilots  records  no  more  stirring  occurrence  than  that  of 
August  12,  1864,  when  the  pilot  boat  William  Bell  cruising  about 
on  a  peaceful  mission,  came  upon  a  steamer  which  her  pilot-in-charge 
believed  would  want  to  be  taken  into  port.  The  expected  "pick  up" 
proved  to  be  the  Confederate  privateer  Tallahassee.  The  William 
Bell  came  upon  the  enemy  ship  70  miles  east  southeast  of  Sandy 
Hook  and  was  captured  and  destroyed  by  the  Confederate  after 
being  used  for  a  short  time  as  a  tender  to  the  converted  Confederate 
merchantman.  On  the  same  day  the  James  Funck,  another  Sandy 
Hook  boat  and,  like  the  William  Bell,  on  the  lookout  for  incoming 
ships,  was  captured  by  the  same  privateer.  In  both  cases  the  pilots 
had  believed  the  Tallahassee  to  be  fair  commercial  prize  for  pilotage 
and  the  competing  pilots  had  engaged  in  a  merry  race  to  be  first  at 
the  Tallahassee's  side.     The  William  Bell  had  won  the  race  and  it 

—  13  — 


T7 


<^-^ 


V7 


"6-^"6-6"6' 


r\. 

\J 

U 

W 

W 

-6- 

VJ 

XJ 


/Z\ 


V 


was  while  her  pilot  was  doing  involuntary  and  unwilling  pilot  duty 
for  the  Confederate  ship  that  the  James  Funck  came  up,  quite 
unconscious  of  the  fact  that  the  William  Bell  had  already  been  con- 
fiscated. 

This  day's  eventful  happenings  makes  quite  a  story  in  itself  and 
we  quote  the  very  best  authority  possible  under  the  circumstances, 
Colonel  John  Taylor  Wood,  who  commanded  the  Tallahassee  on  her 
commerce-destroying  cruise  and  who  later  wrote  about  the  captures 
off  Sandy  Hook  in  a  brilliant  article  in  the  Century  Magazine, 
nearly  twenty-five  years  later. 


— 14 


J5l 


PILOT  BOAT  WILLIAM  BELL 

Being  chased  by  the  Confederate  privateer  Tallahassee,  August  12,  186 '4- 


AN  ECHO  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

AFTER  recording  his  trip  up  the  coast  after  the  Tallahassee  had 
been  placed  in  commission  on  July  20,  1864,  during  which  his 
commerce-destroying  cruiser  put  out  of  the  running  a  number 
of  sailing  ships,  Colonel  Wood  tells  of  the  events  that  occurred  on 
August  12th.     "Standing  over  towards  Fire  Island  Light,"  writes 
the  Colonel,  "we  found  seven  sail  in  sight.     One  ran  down  towards 
us,  which  we  recognized  at  once  as  a  New  York  pilot  boat.      She 
luffed  to  under  our  quarter,  launched  a  small  boat  and  a  few  minutes 
later  a  large,  well-dressed  man  in  black,  with  a  high  hat,  heavy  gold 
watch-guard,  a  small  valise,  and  a  bundle  of  papers  under  his  arm, 
stepped  over  the  side.     As  he  did  so  his  eyes  glanced  up  at  our  flag 
at  the  peak,  which  was  lazily  unfolding  in  a  light  breeze.     'My  God! 
what  is  that?     What  ship  is  this?'  said  he,   turning  to  me.      'The 
Confederate  cruiser  Tallahassee,'  I  replied.    A  more  astonished  man 
never  stood  on  deck  of  a  vessel.     He  turned  deadly  pale  and  drops 
of  perspiration  broke  from  every  poi'e ;  but  rapidly  bracing  himself, 
he  took  in  the  situation,  and  prepared  to  make  the  best  of  it.     He 
was  told  that  his  vessel  was  a  prize  and  that  I  would  make  a  tender 
of  her.     He  was  ordered  to  go  on  board  and  to  return  with  his  crew 
and  their  personal  effects.      It   was    the   pilot   boat   James   Funck, 
No.  22,  one  of  the  class  of  fine  weatherly  schooners  found  off  New 
York,  from  one  to  two  hundred  miles  out,  at  all  seasons,  manned 
bv   as   thorough   seamen   as   ever   trod   ship's    deck.      Years   before, 
while  I  was  attached  to  the  sloop  of  war  Germantown,  I  had  seen 
one  of  them  work  this  vessel  under  sail  down  the  East  River,  against 
a  head  wind  but  fair  tide,  'backing  and  filling'  in   a   manner  that 
called  forth  the  admiration  of  all.     I  put  on  board  two  officers  and 
twenty  men,  with  orders  to  keep  within  signal  distance.      She   (the 
James  Funck)  was  very  efficient  when  several  sail  were  in  sight,  over- 
hauling and  bringing  alongside  vessels,   that   I   might  decide  upon 
their  fate.      The   captures   of   the   bark   Bay   State   and   the   brigs 
Carrie  Estelle  and  A.  Richards  followed  in  quick  succession.      We 
had  now  over  forty  prisoners,  and  their  baggage  on  board,  lumber- 
ing up  our  decks  and  it  was  necessary  to  make  some  disposition  of 
them.      Towards    night    No.    22    brought    alongside    the    schooner 
Carroll.     She  was  bonded  by  her  captain,  acting  for  the  owners,  for 
ten  thousand  dollars ;  and  after  he  had  given  a  written  engagement 
to  land  the  prisoners  at  New  York,  they  went  on  board  with  their 
effects.     Before  leaving  they  were  all  paroled.     All  the  prisoners  we 
made,  with  hardly  an  exception,  were  most  eager  for  their  paroles. 
One  said:    'This  is  worth  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to   me.' 
Another  said :    'I  would  not  take  a  thousand  dollars  for  mine.'     One 

—  16  — 


£X 


XJ 


J    V 


XJ 


/  \ 


/  \ 


U"^ 


-6- 


xr 


/ ,, 


\  i 


/~\ 


\  i 


/ ., 


XJ 


^  ^  ^  xJxJx^xJx^x^x^ 


skipper  said  that  if  it  would  protect  him  from  the  draft  he  was 
partly  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  his  vessel.  Another,  whose  vessel  had 
been  bonded,  brought  all  his  crew  on  board  to  secure  their  papers. 
The  next  victim  was  another  pilot-boat,  the  William  Bell,  No.  24. 
My  object  in  capturing  these  vessels  was,  if  possible,  to  secure  a 
pilot  who  could  either  be  paid  or  coerced  to  take  the  ship  through 
I  loll  Gate  into  Long  Island  Sound.  It  was  now  near  the  full  moon. 
It  was  my  intention  to  run  up  the  harbor  just  after  dark,  as  I  knew 
the  way  in  by  Sandy  Hook,  then  go  on  up  the  East  River,  setting 
fire  to  the  shipping  on  both  sides  and,  when  abreast  of  the  Navy 
Yard,  to  open  fire,  hoping  some  of  our  shells  might  set  fire  to  the 
buildings  and  any  vessels  that  might  be  at  the  docks,  and  finally  to 
steam  through  Hell  Gate  into  the  Long  Island  Sound.  I  knew  from 
the  daily  papers,  which  we  received  only  a  day  or  two  old,  what 
vessels  were  in  port  and  that  there  was  nothing  then  ready  that 
could  oppose  us.  But  no  pilot  could  be  found  who  knew  the  road 
or  who  was  willing  to  undertake  it  and  I  was  forced  to  abandon  the 
scheme.  *  *  *  As  the  tender  (the  pilot  boat)  proved  a  draw-back 
to  our  rapid  movements  I  determined  to  destroy  her.  It  was  a  mis- 
take for  I  was  authorized  by  the  government  (Confederate)  to  fit 
out  any  prize  as  a  cruiser  and  this  one  ought  to  have  been  sent  along 
the  eastern  coast." 


\J 

—  17 


ELECTUS  COMFORT— BEAU   BRUMMEL  OF  THE   SEA 

Captain  of  the  pilot  boat  J.  F.  Loubat  No.  16 — Captain  Comfort  zcas  in 

active  service  4-2  years 


THE  DA  YS  OF  SENTIMENT 

IN  THE  days  before  and  just  after  the  Civil  War  there  was  a  deal 
more  sentiment  and  ceremony  attached  to  the  coming  and  going 

of  pilots  than  there  is  in  these  ultra-commercialized  days.  The 
Sandy  Hook  pilot  came  on  board  a  ship  like  a  visiting  admiral, 
greeted  at  the  rail  by  the  captain  of  the  ship  with  the  major  por- 
tion of  the  crew  standing  about,  if  not  at  attention,  at  least  in 
respectful  attitude  while  the  newcomer  was  given  his  welcome  aboard. 

And  in  those  days  there  were  no  peaked  caps,  rough  clothes  or 
sou-westers  worn  by  the  sturdy  sea  scouts  who  lay  in  wait  for 
arriving  ships.  Plug  hats  and  frock  coats  constituted  the  au  fait 
apparel  for  the  Sandy  Hook  pilot.  On  shore  the  pilot  invariably 
was  the  Beau  Brummel  of  his  home  port.  Those  were  the  good  old 
days  when  a  man  divided  his  calling  between  sentiment  and  strict 
commercialism  and  the  combination  made  for  good  fellowship,  re- 
spect and  pride  of  occupation. 

It  was  just  about  this  time  that  a  prominent  New  York  mer- 
chant began  his  semi-annual  trips  to  Europe.  He  was  E.  H.  Van 
Ingen,  a  cloth  merchant,  who  died  in  New  York  during  the  early  part 
of  1921,  after  having  crossed  the  Atlantic  some  110  times,  making 
55  round  trips,  two  each  year.  Even  the  world  war  could  not  keep  Mr. 
Van  Ingen  at  home  and  during  1914,  1915,  1916,  1917  and  1918  he 
made  his  semi-annual  trips  just  the  same  as  ever.  The  reason  for 
bringing  Mr.  Van  Ingen  into  this  history  of  the  pilots  of  New  York 
Harbor  is  because  this  veteran  transatlantic  traveler  expressed  the 
opinion  of  every  human  being  who  has  ever  crossed  the  oceans,  that 
the  taking  on  or  dropping  off  of  the  pilot  always  has  been,  is  now 
and  always  will  be  the  most  stirring  incident  of  a  long  sea  voyage. 
After  more  than  fifty  consecutive  years  of  sea  travel  Mr.  Van  Ingen 
told  the  writer  that  he  never  missed,  if  he  could  help  it,  seeing  the 
pilot  dropped  on  the  outgoing  voyage  or  taken  on  upon  the  arrival 
of  his  ship  in  port.  The  venerable  ocean-goer  said  that  the  110th 
time  that  he  saw  the  performance  was  just  as  interesting  as  the  first 
time  he  saw  it  in  the  early  oixties. 

Unlike  the  pilotage  system  of  today,  which  makes  the  taking  on 
of  the  guiding  hand  for  the  harbor  navigation  a  matter  of  little 
ceremony  and  of  almost  precise  adjustment  (even  though  the  haz- 
ards are  still  very  great  in  bad  weather)  the  pilot's  work  in  the 
old  days  was  invariably  one  of  quick  action,  hot  races  and  absolutely 
expert  seamanship  if  he  would  secure  the  incoming  ship  as  his  own 
particular  "prize."  As  against  the  single  pilot  boat  that  is,  today, 
rowed  out  to  the  incoming  steamer   from   the  "station   pilot  boat" 


19 


M§\ 


MMMMMM^W\\^\\^\ 


XJ 


jCx 


XT 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


XT 


M 


there  were  in  the  earlier  days  and  until  1895  more  than  thirty 
pilot  boats  (sail  boats)  in  service,  each  of  which  strove  to  get  to 
the  incoming  vessel  first.  In  1865  there  were  32  of  these  trim  little 
schooner  yachts,  24  of  them  carrying  New  York  pilots  and  8  of 
them  New  Jersey  pilots.  That  was  the  year  that  Nathan  Wood, 
a  veteran  in  the  pilot  service  today,  became  a  pilot,  at  the  age  of 
thirty  years.  Mr.  Wood,  now  86  years  old  and  still  as  active  as  at 
fifty,  remained  in  the  service  for  forty-seven  years,  retiring  in  1912. 

It  was  always  a  race  in  those  days  and  often  a  close  one.  Some- 
times the  little  boats,  each  with  its  number  prominently  'displayed 
on  its  sail,  came  in  a  bunch  towards  the  incoming  ship,  always  striv- 
ing for  the  lee  side, 'so  as  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  calmer  seas 
and  often  the  race  between  a  dozen  or  more  pilot  boats  ended  right 
under  the  rail  of  the  arriving  vessel.  That  was,  of  course,  when  the 
incoming  craft  had  not  secured  a  pilot  far  out  at  sea,  for  some- 
times a  pilot  would  be  taken  on  in  Longtitude  60,  some  400  to  600 
miles  away,  off  Sable  Island. 

The  pilots  then  often  remained  on  board  their  little  68-ton 
boats  for  a  week  before  getting  a  ship  and  a  chance  to  stretch  their 
legs  on  shore.  The  little  sailers  were  built  expressly  for  the  work 
they  were  intended  to  do — quick  maneuvring  and  quick  sailing — 
down  deep  in  the  water  to  prevent  their  capsizing,  drawing  twelve 
to  fourteen  feet  and  more  and  with  a  rocker  keel  amidships.  That 
they  were  staunch  boats  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  those  of  the 
pilot  boats  that  were  not  lost  in  accidents  or  in  heavy  weather  later 
were  turned  into  pleasure  v  yachts  by  those  who  bought  them. 
Nathan  Wood  witnessed  many  tragedies  and  helped  to  save  many 
lives  during  his  long  term  as  a  pilot.  At  one  time  the  pilot  boat 
Favorita  No.  5  was  struck  by  the  steamer  City  of  Port  au  Prince. 
It  was  on  a  bleak  February  morning  in  1884,  with  a  nor'wester 
raging  and  much  vapor  over  the  sea.  Mr.  Wood  had  to  crawl 
through  a  ragged  hole  in  his  boat.  Badly  hurt,  he  stuck  to  his  job 
as  pilot  and  brought  his  vessel  in  safely — then  spent  many  long 
weeks  in  a  hospital  ashore. 


XJ 


M 


—  20 


TALES  OF  DISStfSTEIl 

THE  fleet  of  pilot  boats  had  disasters  almost  every  year.  Pre- 
vious to  1858,  eighteen  vessels  were  lost.  The  most  common 
disaster  has  been  loss  or  damage  by  collision,  seventeen  pilot 
boats  having  been  run  down  since  1858.  The  Ariel  Paterson  was  run 
down  by  the  steamer  Commonwealth ;  the  Moses  H.  Grinnell  was 
struck  by  the  steamship  Union  on  the  Outer  Middle  Ground,  the 
Mary  Taylor  was  run  down  by  the  U.  S.  Transport  Fairhaven, 
in  186*3;  the  Josiah  Johnson  was  run  down  by  the  schooner  Wanata 
and  the  A.  T.  Stewart  was  sunk  by  the  steamship  Scotia,  in  1869. 
The  John  D.  Jones  was  run  down  by  the  steamship  City  of  Wash- 
ington, on  a  stormy  night  of  March,  1871.  The  Caprice  was  run 
down  in  the  Narrows,  by  the  steamship  New  Orleans,  in  1876.  The 
Abraham  Leggett  met  her  fate  when  run  down  by  the  steamship 
Naples,  1879.  She  was  becalmed  in  the  lee  of  the  Naples  when  the 
steamship  rolled  over  and  crushed  the  little  pilot  boat.  The  Columbia 
was  run  down  by  the  steamship  Alaska,  in  1883,  and  the  Washington 
met  a  similar  fate  when  run  down  by  the  steamship  Roma,  off  Sandy 
Hook,  in  1884. 

The  Columbia,  run  down  by  the  Alaska,  had  before  had  a  peculiar 
experience  with  a  sister  ship  of  the  one  that  caused  her  later  loss. 
This  was  when  the  Columbia  had  put  a  pilot  on  board  the  inbound 
steamer  Arizona,  well  below  the  Massachusetts  coast.  A  gale  was 
blowing  and  the  yawl  that  had  placed  the  pilot  on  board  the  Arizona 
was  capsized,  throwing  her  two  apprentices  into  the  sea.  A  second 
yawl  was  put  over  from  the  pilot  boat  with  two  men  to  rescue  those 
of  the  first  yawl,  but  that  second  yawl  also  capsized,  both  yawls 
being  carried  away  in  the  heavy  sea  that  was  running.  The  Colum- 
bia, with  her  remaining  navigator,  managed  to  make  Newport,  R.  I., 
with  her  flag  flying  at  half-mast  for  the  supposedly  drowned  crew. 
Much  to  the  surprise  and  happiness  of  the  sole  "survivor"  he 
learned,  upon  arriving  at  the  wharf  in  Newport  that  the  Arizona 
had  picked  up  the  occupants  of  both  yawls,  beyond  the  sight  of  the 
"survivor"  on  the  Columbia,  and  had  brought  them  safely  to  New 
York. 

The  Columbia  figured  in  several  accidents  before  her  final  de- 
struction and  Pilot  Frank  P.  Van  Pelt  played  a  leading,  if  involun- 
tary part  in  many  of  them  except  the  final  tragedy,  when  he  hap- 
pened not  to  be  on  board  of  her.  The  series  of  accidents  of  the 
Columbia  culminated,  in  1881,  with  her  being  run  into  by  the  steam- 
ship Rotterdam  (a  comparatively  little  steamer  as  viewed  from  the 
standpoint  of  to-day  and  the  grandmother  of  the  present  leviathan 
Holland-American  Liner  Rotterdam).     That  particular  Rotterdam 

—  21  — 


^ 


^ 


\7 


<d"QS 

\j 

fr 

\J 

\J 

W 

w 

was  run  down  by  the  Wilson  Liner  Lepanto,  with  the  loss  of  two 
of  the  Rotterdam's  crew,  the  following  year.  The  Lepanto's  bows 
were  stove  in  by  the  collision  and  she  took  the  pilot  boat  Columbia, 
the  crew  of  which  had  seen  the  disaster  to  the  steamer  that  had  run 
them  down  the  previous  year,  in  tow  for  the  purpose  of  having  a 
rescue  craft  at  hand  in  case  the  Lepanto's  captain  should  be  unable 
to  make  the  harbor  owing  to  his  ship's  damaged  bows.  And  the 
next  year,  1883,  the  Columbia  received  her  coup  de  grace  from  the 
Alaska,  being  sent  down  with  all  hands. 

A  weird  story  told  by  Pilot  Frank  Cramer  covers  the  career,  or 
part  of  the  career,  of  the  pilot  boat  Hope  No.  1 — the  "Patsy"  Hope, 
as  her  owners  affectionately  called  her — which  was,  before  her  com- 
ing into  the  pilot  service,  a  dispatch  (sail)  boat  during  the  Civil 
War.  She  was  long  and  narrow,  was  "Patsy,"  and,  according  to 
Captain  Cramer,  looked  like  a  long  coffin.  She  had  no  freeboard 
and  was,  altogether,  a  most  peculiar-looking  craft.  But  she  could 
tear  off  thirteen  miles  an  hour  in  a  fair  wind.  She  had  had  a  series 
of  mishaps.  At  one  time  sixteen  souls,  all  of  them  apprentices,  were 
lost.  On  another  occasion  four  men  were  swept  off  her  bowsprit  by 
a  great  sea  and  on  another  occasion  three  men  were  carried  over- 
board from  her  quarter-deck  while  setting  the  main  try-sail. 

On  March  12,  1890,  the  "Patsy"  Hope  was  lying  on  the  Sandy 
Hook  Bar,  holding  station.  During  the  evening  one  of  the  appren- 
tices reported  to  Captain  Lyons,  who  was  in  charge  at  the  time, 
that  two  men  had  gone  forward  "and  have  not  returned."  Nothing 
could  be  seen  of  anyone  forward  on  the  deck  so  Captain  Cramer  told 
the  apprentice  to  call  the  roll  in  the  cabin  below.  The  boy  came 
back  saying  that  all  on  board  had  been  accounted  for.  The  pilot 
thought  no  more  about  the  apprentice's  belief  that  some  of  the  crew 
had  "gone  forward  and  have  not  returned"  until  long  afterwards 
and  then  he  had  reason  to  remember  the  premonition,  or  whatever 
it  may  be  called,  with  a  vengeance.  It  was  close  to  midnight  and 
raining  hard  when  Captain  Cramer  called  out  to  get  the  Hope  under 
way  so  as  to  get  a  safe  anchorage.  A  gale  from  the  eastward  was 
coming  up  and  a  thick  fog  was  spreading  over  the  water  around  the 
Hook.  Captain  Lyons,  another  pilot,  was  at  the  wheel  and  started 
to  run  into  the  Lower  Bay  for  safe  harbor.  The  gale  piled  the 
"Patsy"  Hope  on  Sandy  Hook  Beach  before  those  on  board  were 
aware  of  it  and  the  Sandy  Hook  life-saving  crew  rescued  all  hands 
over  the  bows,  all  going  forward  not  to  return.  In  twenty-four 
hours  nothing  was  left  of  the  coffin-like  pilot  boat  except  a  mass  of 
splintered  wood  on  the  beach. 


—  22  — 


m 


A    \ 
\l 


A   \ 

\f 


VI 

. 

\l 

'e-e-e^-e-e' 


J  ., 


T7 


/A 


\  / 


Hfa§§llggS8 


Still  another  catastrophe  was  that  of  the  Pilot  Boat  Mary  E. 
Fish,  built  to  replace  the  Mary  Taylor  which  was  lost,  was  run 
down  in  her  turn  by  a  three-masted  schooner  near  Barnegat  and 
the  Mary  &  Catherine  was  run  down  by  the  steamship  Haverton, 
off"  Absecom  Light,  in  1885.  The  Commodore  Bateman  was  run 
down  by  the  steamship  Suevia,  while  making  fast  time  in  a  dense 
fog,  on  George's  Bank,  and  the  Charlotte  Webb  was  rammed  by  the 
steamship  La  Normandie,  a  French  Liner,  in  a  dense  fog  near  Sandy 
Hook  lightvessel,  in  1889. 


W 

W 

2.3  — 


LOSS  OF  THE  COLUMBIA 

NONE  hut  those  who  have  taken  a  trip  in  one  of  the  old  style 
sail  pilot  boats  can  feel  the  horror  of  a  dense  fog  and  sud- 
denly seeing  the  bows  of  a  steamer,  looming  up  as  if  mountain 
high,  bearing  straight  down  upon  the  little  cockleshell  riding  hesi- 
tatingly in  the  sea,  her  brave  complement  hoping  against  hope  that 
no  reckless  navigator  will  cut  through  the  Atlantic  waters  unmindful 
of  smaller  craft  in  the  way  of  his  big  ship. 

Next  on  the  list  was  the  Eben  13.  Jordan,  which  was  struck  by 
the  steamship  Saginaw,  off  Barnegat,  in  1892.  The  James  Funck 
was  sunk  in  the  Narrows  by  the  steamship  Union,  in  1862  (being  the 
second  pilot  boat  to  fall  victim  to  the  same  steamship)  but  was  sub- 
sequently raised  and  two  years  later  was  seized  by  the  rebel  privateer 
Tallahassee  and  used  as  a  tender  and  decoy,  as  before  described  in 
detail. 

The  report  of  the  loss  of  the  Columbia,  in  1883,  indicates  the  ex- 
treme danger  that  pilots  encountered  while  trying  to  board  a  steam- 
ship in  rough  weather.  When  the  steamer  Alaska  was  sighted,  the 
pilot  boat  was  head-reaching  to  the  northward  on  the  port  tack 
under  close  reefed  mainsail  and  storm  staysails.  The  wind  was 
blowing  a  gale  from  the  northwest  and  an  ugly  sea  was  running; 
but  the  weather  was  clear,  although  cold.  The  pilot  boat  plunged 
deeply  into  the  heavy  sea  and  heeled  to  the  force  of  the  wind  until 
her  lee  rail  was  awash.  The  wind  whipped  off  the  tops  of  the  waves 
and  filled  the  air  with  spray.  When  the  steamship  sighted  the 
pilot  boat,  off  Fire  Island,  her  course  was  changed  to  make  a  lee 
for  the  pilot  boat's  yawl  and  she  seemed  to  stop  when  the  yawl  was 
launched  and  two  men  and  a  pilot  went  over  the  side  of  the  pilot 
boat  and  dropped  into  the  yawl.  Before  the  yawl  had  proceeded 
more  than  a  boat's  length,  the  Alaska  unexpectedly  forged  ahead. 
The  yawl  was  capsized  by  the  surge  from  the  port  bow  of  the  steam- 
ship when  she  pitched  into  a  big  wave  and  the  three  men  were  thrown 
into  the  sea.  Before  anything  could  be  done  to  save  them,  the  bow 
of  the  Alaska  rose  and  fell  again  and  hit  the  pilot  boat,  cutting  it  in 
two  and  crushing  the  decks  and  beams  to  bits.  Broken  timbers 
were  swept  under  the  bows  and  along  the  sides  as  the  Alaska  moved 
ahead  again  and  passed  over  the  spot.  Four  pilots,  four  sailors  and 
the  cook,  the  entire  complement  of  the  Columbia,  perished  in  this 
disaster.  One  of  the  pilots  was  Ralph  Nobles  who,  in  1879,  tried  to 
introduce  a  steam  pilot  boat  into  the  service.  With  two  owners  of 
the  Pilot  Boat  Widgeon  that  had  been  condemned  as  unseawTorthy, 
he  bought  the  tug  Hercules  and   converted  her  into   a  pilot  boat. 

—  25  — 


«■ 

-6- 

■6- 

u 

u 

w 

^-6-8-^ 


/."A, 


V7 


ZA 


T7 


jOl. 


V7 


ZA, 


X7 


A 


T7 


A\ 


V7 


T7 


^ 


The  rest  of  the  pilots  objected  to  the  scheme,  and  the  Pilot  Commis- 
sioners upheld  them.  Nobles  went  into  court  with  the  controversy 
but  finally  withdrew  and  sold  the  tug.  Less  than  twenty  years  later 
the  scheme  of  Nobles  came  into  practical  effect  although  he,  himself, 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  conversion  of  the  pilot  system  to  steam 
from  sail. 


26  — 


SACRIFICES  TO  DUTY 

THE  Thomas  I).  Harrison  and  the  Ezra  Nye  went  ashore  at  Bay 
Ridge,  and  tlic  Edmund  Driggs  was  crushed  by  ice  on  the  same 
shore,  while  the  Hope  went  ashore  off  Eort  Wadsworth,  Staten 
Island.  All  these  were  subsequently  pulled  into  deep  water,  raised 
and  repaired  and  kept  on  duty  until  sold  out  of  the  pilot  service. 
The  Jesse  Carll  stranded  on  the  bar  at  Zach's  Inlet  opposite  Amity- 
ville,  in  the  big  gale  of  October,  1889,  and  the  Pet  was  wrecked  at 
Newport.  Nine  boats  were  at  sea  when  a  cyclone  struck  this  coast  in 
September,  1889,  and  all  weathered  the  great  storm  successfully. 
The  pilots  were  carried  out  to  sea  because  a  boat  to  take  them  off 
could  not  keep  her  station  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor. 

The  stranding  of  the  Jesse  Carll,  in  1889,  indicates  the  expe- 
riences and  danger  of  a  struggle  against  wind  and  sea  of  the  old 
type  sail  pilot  boats.  The  pilot  boat  had  put  off  one  of  the  five 
pilots  aboard  it  and  was  standing  off  shore,  near  Fire  Island,  when 
she  began  to  feel  the  force  of  an  advancing  Southern  cyclone.  Early 
in  the  evening  she  was  in  nasty  weather,  as  the  pilots  have  it.  The 
wind  was  offshore  most  of  the  time ;  but  it  varied  and  shifted.  At 
midnight  a  violent  thunderstorm  burst  overhead  and  the  increasing 
wind  raised  a  furious  sea.  Gideon  Mapes,  one  of  the  best  pilots 
then  in  the  service,  had  charge  of  the  Jesse  Carll  and  had  her  under 
double  reefed  sails  and  standing  up  against  the  wind  and  sea  in  fine 
shape.  Fire  Island  light  was  in  sight  until  an  hour  after  midnight. 
Then  came  a  deluge  of  rain  and  the  wind  increased  to  hurricane 
force.  Soon  a  thick  mist  covered  the  water  and  shut  out  every- 
thing in  sight.  The  pilot  boat  reached  off  and  on,  expecting  to  keep 
out  of  shoal  water,  but  on  one  tack,  she  went  too  close  and  struck 
on  the  bar  at  Zach's  Inlet.  The  sails  were  unfurled  and  raised  with 
the  hope  of  forcing  her  off  but  all  efforts  failed.  Her  signals  "of 
distress  were  seen  by  the  life-saving  crew  on  the  beach  and  before 
daybreak  the  ten  men  on  board  were  taken  ashore  in  boats.  After 
daybreak  the  crews  tried  to  pull  the  pilot  boat  off  but  when  she 
shifted  to  deeper  water  she  filled,  a  hole  having  been  made  in  her 
bottom.  Then  the  pilots  abandoned  her  but  she  was  raised  and  re- 
paired some  time  later. 

The  Pilot  Boat  Avery  came  out  of  a  storm  in  a  remarkable  way 
more  than  forty  years  ago.  She  was  under  three  hooks  of  the  main- 
sail in  a  westerly  gale  offshore  when  she  was  knocked  down.  In  a 
few  minutes  she  would  have  foundered  but  the  jib  which  was  furled, 
was  washed  off  the  bowsprit  and  the  wind  caught  the  head  of  it  and 
ran  it  up  the  stay,  paying  her  head  off  so  that  she  righted  and 
saved  herself. 

—  27  — 


ZA 


V7 


£\ 


17 


& 

-6- 

f3- 

^ 

W 

W 

£X 


w 


rtwi 


^T 


Z=v 


Y7 


U 


John  L.  Canvin,  one  of  the  pilots  who  owned  the  C.  H.  Marshall, 
lost  his  life  in  a  singular  mishap  in  1890.  He  had  been  put  aboard 
the  barkentine  Edward  Cushing,  off  Highland  Light  and,  as  the 
vessel  could  not  enter  the  harbor  that  night,  he  advised  the  captain 
to  lay  to  until  daylight.  Soon  afterwards  the  storm  that  had  been 
coming  up  increased  in  violence  and  under  the  shortened  sail  the 
vessel  fell  off  into  the  trough  of  the  sea  and  rolled  badly.  The  deck 
was  slippery  with  ice  and,  as  Canvin  was  a  tallish  man,  he  had  hold 
of  the  spanker  boom.  The  crew  had  clewed  up  the  foresail  and  were 
swinging  the  yard  when  the  vessel  lurched  to  leeward,  then  rolled 
far  over  to  windward.  The  man  at  the  wheel  heard  Canvin's  cry 
when  the  roll  broke  his  grip  on  the  boom  and  sent  him,  head  first, 
over  the  low  rail  into  the  sea.  The  vessel's  boat  had  been  washed 
overboard  and  nothing  could  be  done  to  save  the  pilot.  The  bark- 
entine was  driven  one  hundred  miles  off  the  coast  afterwards. 

Pilot  Henry  Devere,  who  had  been  compelled,  by  an  attack  of 
asthma  caused  by  exposure,  to  retire  from  the  service,  had  a  queer 
experience  when  he  sailed  in  the  James  Funck  before  the  Civil  War. 
A  brig  under  shortened  sail  was  sighted  one  day  and,  when  the  pilot 
boat  drew  alongside  the  pilot  hailed  a  boy  at  the  wheel.  The  boy 
seemed  to  be  stupefied  and  the  pilot  was  obliged  to  hail  him  several 
times  before  he  started  up,  leaned  forward  into  the  companionway 
and  called,  feebly,  to  someone  below.  Then  a  gaunt  man  came  upon 
deck  and  said  that  the  crew  had  been  stricken  by  fevor.  The  pilot 
went  on  board  and  with  the  help  of  the  mate  headed  the  vessel 
towards  Sandy  Hook.  The  captain  was  ill  in  his  stateroom.  The 
body  of  one  of  the  crew  that  was  found  on  deck  was  tied  in  mos- 
quito netting  and  dropped  overboard.  The  boy  died  in  the  Lower 
Bay  and  the  captain  died  off  the  Battery,  leaving  the  mate  as  the 
sole  survivor  of  the  crew.  The  pilot  and  the  mate  furled  the  sails, 
made  the  line  fast,  when  the  vessel  took  a  tow  and  came  up  the  river. 

Among  the  old-timers  that  have  made  the  fleet  famous  are  the 
Edmund  Blunt,  built  in  1858;  the  Ezra  Nye,  built  in  1859;  the 
Charles  H.  Marshall,  built  in  1860,  and  the  Edward  F.  Williams, 
built  in  1863.  All  of  these  were  repaired  and  rebuilt  and  are  still  in 
good  condition  in  various  trades  but  not  as  pilot  boats,  of  course. 
The  Nye  was  transformed  into  a  yacht  and  went  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, far  away  from  the  original  scenes  of  her  triumphs,  as  the 
floating  home  of  Marion  Crawford,  the  novelist.  The  Actaea  and 
the  Jesse  Carll  and  the  Eben  D.  Jordan  also  were  converted  into 
yachts  but  the  majority  of  the  other  discarded  pilot  boats  blistered 
their  noses  for  a  long  time  in  Erie  Basin,  once  famous — or  is  it 
infamous? — as  the  graveyard  of  ships. 

—  28  — 


-6- 

& 

j 

VJ 

VJ 

w 

J 

vv 

'J 

w 

vj 

M 

\  i 

VJ 

•e-e-e- 

ir 

v 

'6"6"6' 

One  of  the  exceptions  in  the  discard  rule  was  the  Thomas  I). 
Harrison.  For  twenty  years  this  trim  little  schooner  had  known 
service  as  a  pilot  hoat  and  when  the  day  of  the  steam  pilot  boat 
came  she  was  disposed  of  to  an  importer  and  exporter  who  put  her 
in  the  trade  to  Africa.  She  was  a  craft  of  only  a  trifle  over  66  tons, 
with  a  length  of  80  feet  and  a  beam  of  22  feet,  drawing  but  little 
water.  Nevertheless,  she  proved  staunch  enough  for  the  hazardous 
business  to  which  she  was  assigned. 


f^ 


T7 


29 


CO 

Q 

s 


*> 

"« 


<  : 

'    i 

^^  SO 

6 


— 

3j 

~ 

■♦*> 

r^ 

£ 

o 

cs 

•-3? 

— 

U 

^H 

g 

Ph 

f*q 

« 

-*^ 

^> 

u 

a 

"■—i 

su 

w 

DARING  RESCUES 

PILOTS  and  sailors  on  board  the  pilot  boat  Walter  Adams  added 
laurels  to  the  record  of  tbe  Sandy  Hook  men  when  they  took  off 
the  passengers  and  crew,  as  well  as  all  their  effects,  from  the 
British  steamship  Alvena,  bound  from  New  York  for  Haytien  ports, 
when  that  vessel  was  run  down  and  cut  through  by  a  big  British 
freighter  at  the  entrance  of  Gedney's  Channel  off  Sandy  Hook,  on 
the  afternoon  of  January  19,  1897.  The  Alvena  had  to  be  beached 
and  her  decks  were  submerged  at  high  water,  so  that  the  need  of 
getting  her  passengers  and  crew  off  was  an  urgent  one.  It  was  the 
same  pilot  boat  that  happened  along  at  the  opportune  time  to  rescue 
the  150  fishermen  excursionists  from  the  stranded  steamboat  John 
E.  Moore,  on  Romer  Shoal,  on  Thanksgiving  Day  of  the  same  year. 
The  Moore  had  gone  aground  in  a  dense  fog  and  quickly  filled  with 
water.  It  was,  indeed,  a  true  Thanksgiving  Day  for  the  fishermen 
who  were  saved  from  drowning  by  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  on  that 
occasion. 

There  was  wild  confusion  when  the  John  E.  Moore  struck  on 
south  of  Romer  Shoal  on  Thanksgiving  Day  morning.  The  John 
E.  Moore  had  been  in  the  service  of  transferring  immigrants  from 
incoming  steamers  to  Ellis  Island,  under  contract  with  the  various 
steamship  lines  and  was,  in  every  way,  a  staunch  and  seaworthy 
craft.  In  fact,  after  having  been  raised,  following  the  accident  of 
1896,  she  continued  in  this  immigration  service  and  is  still  engaged 
in  it  to  this  day. 

The  steamboat  had  left  the  Battery  early  in  the  morning,  some- 
what delayed  by  the  dense  fog  reported  off  Sandy  Hook  and  which 
had  also  thrown  a  heavy  mist  over  the  inner  harbor.  All  on  board 
were  veteran  fishermen,  amply  equipped  with  fishing  material  and 
also  with  that  which,  in  those  pre-Volstead  days,  made  a  fishing 
excursion  complete  in  its  attractive  allurements.  The  Moore,  under 
Captain  Morrell,  a  careful  and  experienced  navigator,  made  her 
way  slowly  down  the  upper  bay  towards  the  Narrows,  then  picked 
her  way  gingerly  through  the  Narrows  into  the  lower  bay,  Captain 
Morrell  having  intended  to  run  down  inside  the  "Oil  Spot"  and  make 
a  short  cut  to  the  Fishing  Banks.  The  tide  was  running  in  and 
the  fact  that  he  had  little  headway  and  nothing  could  be  seen  beyond 
a  few  feet  from  the  pilot  house  caused  the  skipper  to  lose  his  reck- 
oning. Nobody  on  board  anticipated  disaster  and  there  was  a  lot 
of  merrymaking  on  the  Moore  amid  the  sombre  blowing  of  her  fog 
whistle  and  the  ringing  of  bells  on  vessels  that  were  hove  to  in  the 
dense  fog  in  the  lower  bay. 

—  31  — 


tH 

\J 

"0" 

,r\. 

W 

-e-e- 

u 

"0" 

w 

V7 

*W" 

W 

*0* 

jCX.  ^cx  -£X  XX. 

A  sudden  shock  came  as  the  bottom  of  the  steamboat  scraped  a 
hard  surface,  the  lead  was  thrown  over  the  side  following  a  quick 
order  from  Captain  Morrell,  with  the  engine-room  gong  sounding  the 
signal  for  full  speed  astern.  Then  came  a  hard,  grinding  noise  and 
a  sudden  stop  of  the  boat  as  every  man  on  her  was  tumbled  off  his 
chair  or  bench  or  out  of  the  bunks  in  which  many  of  the  fishermen 
had  hidden  for  a  little  nap  before  getting  at  the  work  of  fishing 
when  the  boat  should  reach  the  Banks. 

As  the  fishermen  rushed  out  on  deck  they  found  the  weather  so 
thick  that  they  could  not  see  their  hands  before  their  faces.  It  was 
plain  that  the  Moore  was  beginning  to  settle  with  the  sea  pouring 
over  the  sides  of  the  excursion  boat  and  into  the  open  door  of  the 
fireroom.  There  were  hoarse  cries  from  below  and  a  great  cloud 
of  steam  rose  from  below,  enveloping  those  running  about  or 
struggling  with  one  another  on  the  deck.  The  cry  of  "Fire"  did  not 
tend  to  make  matters  any  better  and  a  panic  was  soon  in  full  swing. 
Where  the  majority  of  the  passengers  on  the  Moore  might  have 
remained  safely  on  deck  until  rescued  in  the  face  of  the  slow  settling 
of  the  steamer  on  the  rocks,  the  cry  of  fire  caused  the  majority  to 
lose  their  heads  entirely  and  several  of  the  fishermen  jumped  over- 
board into  the  bay.  There  was  a  wild  scramble  for  the  life- 
preservers  as  the  mate  of  the  Moore  reported,  after  a  dash  into 
the  hold,  that  the  steamboat  was  taking  water  rapidly.  The  life- 
preservers  were  torn  from  their  chests  and  fastenings,  causing  many 
of  them  to  be  destroyed  in  the  fights  that  ensued  for  their  posses- 
sion by  the  maddened  and  panic-stricken  excursionists.  Some  of  the 
passengers  rushed  to  the  life-rafts  and  others  got  into  the  life-boats 
before  they  were  unfastened  and  made  ready  for  lowering.  Captain 
Morrell  did  everything  to  stem  the  tide  of  panic,  calling  on  the  ex- 
cursionists to  be  men,  but  his  words  were  wasted,  although  he  assured 
all  oh  the  deck  that  the  Moore  could  sink  only  a  few  inches  more 
and  that  there  was  no  chance  of  her  going  beneath  the  surface. 
Some  of  the  passengers  were  restored  to  reason  by  the  coolness  of 
Captain  Morrell  but  those  who  had  leaped  overboard  were  in  a  bad 
way.  Then  those  still  on  board  moved  to  the  stern  in  a  body,  caus- 
ing the  Moore  to  settle  further  by  the  stern  and  a  new  panic  seized 
those  who  had  intended  following  Captain  Morrell's  advice  and  re- 
main quietly  on  deck.  In  a  few  moments  the  rail  on  the  after  deck 
was  awash  and  only  the  Moore's  bow  remained  out  of  water.  Finally 
a  life-boat  was  lowered  and  manned  by  the  Moore's  crew  was  sent 
for  help  and  a  dory  also  was  put  over  safely  with  two  officers  who 
had  orders  to  row  to  Sandy  Hook  and  telegraph  to  New  York  for 
help. 


32 


,     V 

\  / 


,     V 


\f 


\  / 

w 

,r\ 

,r\ 

\l 

\  1 

,r\ 

\1 

W\ 


XJ 


A    l 
\f 


XJ 


XJ 


SBJESaiafSEB 


While  the  telegraph  instrument  was  ticking  its  call  for  assist- 
ance help  came  to  the  sorely-pressed  complement  on  the  Moore  in 
the  shape  of  the  pilot  boat  No.  6,  the  Walter  Adams.  She  was 
bound  up  the  bay  when  the  accident  to  the  excursion  boat  occurred, 
having  just  been  relieved  from  "station  duty"  and  was  bringing 
home  the  pilots  who  had  been  left  aboard  after  a  week's  absence 
from  home. 

Besides  Captain  Hennessey  and  his  crew  there  were  on  board 
the  Walter  Adams  :  Pilots  Clarence  Nichols,  Henry  Seguine,  Thomas 
Burritt,  Edward  Earl,  N.  A.  Wall,  George  Cramer,  James  Sayles, 
William  Ferry,  Andrew  Anderson  and  Frank  van  Pelt.  The  pilot 
boat  was  coming  in  slowly  through  the  channel.  When  she  was  off 
the  south  end  of  Romer  Shoals  the  fog  suddenly  lifted  a  bit  and 
Captain  Moore  saw  the  Moore  on  the  shoal.  At  the  same  time  those 
on  the  Moore  saw  the  pilot  boat,  with  her  identifying  number,  and 
gave  a  mighty  cheer.  Captain  Hennessey  headed  his  boat  directly 
for  the  Moore  and  the  pilots  prepared  for  the  work  of  rescue,  clear- 
ing their  life-boats  as  the  Adams  ran  as  close  in  to  the  wreck  as 
possible.  The  life-boats  on  the  Adams  were  lowered  and  manned 
by  the  pilots  just  as  the  two  remaining  life-boats  on  the  Moore 
were  lowered,  with  a  mad  rush  on  the  part  of  the  excursionists  to 
get  into  them.  Fights  started  as  men  fought  for  preference  in 
getting  into  the  life-boats  and  finally  the  life-boats  were  capsized 
when  dozens  of  the  fishermen  jumped  into  the  boats  at  once.  When 
the  first  of  the  pilot  boat's  yawls  arrived  alongside  the  Moore  sev- 
eral of  those  who  had  been  struggling  about  in  the  water  were  fished 
out.  Then,  when  the  yawl  came  under  the  Moore's  rail  several  of 
the  excursionists  prepared  to  jump  into  the  pilot  rescue  craft.  Pilot 
Wall  kept  his  yawl  back,  saying  that  the  pilots  would  save  all  hands 
provided  the  passengers  kept  their  heads.  As  many  as  could  com- 
fortably and  safely  be  taken  into  the  yawl  were  transferred  to  the 
Adams  and  then  the  yawl  came  back  for  another  load,  the  two  life- 
boats from  the  Adams  alternating  in  the  work  of  rescue.  Seven  to 
nine  men  were  carried  on  each  trip,  so  that  the  work  of  transferring 
the  150  excursionists  and  the  crew  of  the  Moore  took  several  hours 
to  accomplish.  But  it  was  done  without  accident,  the  last  man  to 
leave  the  ship  with  Captain  Morrell  and  his  mate,  who  had,  in  the 
meantime,  returned  from  Sandy  Hook  in  the  Moore's  yawl,  being  an 
accordeon  player  who  had  been  engaged  to  furnish  the  music  for 
the  fishermen  on  their  excursion  and  who  kept  playing  "She  may 
have  seen  better  days,"  as  the  last  of  the  rescued  were  taken  off  the 
Moore.  As  the  player  himself  was  being  transferred  into  the  rescue 
yawl  he  sang  "Say  au  revoir  but  not  good-bye." 


—  33  — 


2  ^ 


c 

^ 

"6 

c 

-»> 

^ 

CO 

>— ■ 

w 

/^ 

— - 

o 

X 

Q 

r--. 

x 

•— ^ 

*-^> 

K 

E 

H 

^o 

JO 

fa 

oo 

C 

f-l 

in 

o 

ir, 

s~ 

C 

5 

>— I     ^ 


\  / 


\  /' 


Ol 


t7 


1  ., 

w 


\  / 


,yc\ 


Fei 


'  7 


\  I 


\  I 


/  ., 


On  both  occasions  the  pilots  had  come  on  the  spot  at  the  psy- 
chological moment,  as  they  had,  eleven  years  before,  come  upon  the 
Oregon,  wrecked  within  sight  of  land  and  when  the  pilots  rescued 
seven  hundred  passengers  and  crew  of  that  ill-fated  steamship  and 
brought  them  safely  into  the  harbor  on  the  valiant  little  Phantom 
which  pilot  boat,  two  years  later,  met  her  own  doom  in  the  great 
blizzard  of  1888,  with  the  loss  of  six  of  her  brave  company.  William 
O.  Inglis,  a  reporter  on  the  New  York  World,  vividly  described,  at 
the  time,  the  terrors  of  that  blizzard  as  experienced  on  a  pilot  boat, 
tense  hours  when  the  brave  hearts  who  had  saved  the  lives  of  so 
many  of  their  fellows  found  themselves  without  rescuers  and  were 
either  cast  ashore  or  sent  down  into  the  dark  waters  during  those 
fearsome  days  at  sea. 

The  Oregon  disaster  was  peculiar  in  that  a  new,  staunch  and, 
at  that  time,  modern  steamship  was  run  down  and  scuttled  by  a 
disreputable  coal  schooner.  The  Oregon,  of  the  Cunard  Line,  was 
but  two  years  old  and  had,  during  her  brief  career,  broken  several 
of  the  records  for  fast  transatlantic  traveling  when  she  went  to  her 
doom  off  Fire  Island  in  March,  1886.  The  catastrophe  occurred 
before  daybreak.  Mortally  hurt,  the  Oregon  tried  to  make  shoal 
water  but  began  to  sink  before  she  could  be  beached.  The  pas- 
sengers put  off  in  boats,  in  a  turbulent  sea,  and  would  have  fared 
badly  but  for  the  timely  arrival  of  the  Phantom,  with  its  company 
of  hardy  pilots.  Every  inch  of  deck  room  on  the  little  pilot  boat 
was  jammed  full  with  disheartened  passengers  and  crew  of  the  ill- 
fated  Oregon,  who  had  reason  to  be  thankful,  however,  for  the  alert- 
ness of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  and  the  promptness  with  which  the 
intrepid  little  Phantom  could  be  maneuvred  and  brought  to  them 
as  a  rescue  boat.  That  none  were  lost  in  this  lamentable  accident 
was  due  solely  to  the  pilots,  a  fact  that  wras  fully  attested  at  the 
time  and  which  received  the  fullest  recognition  from  shipping  men 
and  the  government. 

Two  other  rescues  stand  out  in  the  long  list  of  sea  disasters  in 
which  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  were  able  to  give  succor  to  those  who 
fell  victims  to  the  hazards  of  the  sea.  Old  mariners  still  vividly 
recollect  the  work  done  by  the  pilot  boat  Edward  Cooper  when  she 
came  upon  the  Thingvalia  liner  Island,  helpless  with  a  lost  rudder 
off  the  Grand  Banks.  The  Island  had  a  large  passenger  complement 
and  a  heavy  sea  was  running.  The  pilots  on  the  Edward  Cooper 
went  into  quick  consultation  and  it  was  decided  that  the  only  way  in 
which  they  could  assist  the  crippled  liner  was  to  have  the  Edward 
Cooper  act  as  rudder  for  the  Island.     Steel  cables  were  passed  astern 


35 


r\ 

r\ 

/-\ 

-\ 

\_/-\ 

k> 

vv 

AA 

AA 

ry. 

rv 

VV 

W 

aa 

aa 

K> 

AA 

AA 

AA 

l7^ 

u 

\J 

\J 

\J 

\J 

|w 

VV 

u 

\J 

W 

w 

w 

u 

V7 

|w 

to  the  pilot  boat,  fastened  to  her  bits,  and  then  the  journey  to 
Sandy  Hook  was  taken  up,  the  Island  proceeding  under  her  own 
steam  with  the  pilot  boat  tugging  behind,  acting  as  a  sort  of  drag 
on  her  stern  and  thus  making  it  possible  for  the  Thingvalia  liner  to 
steer  a  definite  and  safe  course. 

Likewise  did  the  Jesse  Carrl,  cruising  about  well  outside  the  Hook, 
come  upon  the  German  bark  Erna  when  that  sailing  craft  was  on 
the  point  of  foundering.  Heavy  seas  were  piling  over  her  decks, 
which  were  made  untenable  by  the  shifting  of  her  cargo,  and  the 
bark  was  in  sore  straits  indeed.  The  pilots  on  the  Carrl  launched 
a  yawl,  got  a  line  from  the  wallowing  bark,  and  started  to  tow  the 
unwieldy  cripple  towards  Sandy  Hook,  a  distance  of  some  fifty 
miles.  As  the  little  pilot  boat  and  her  helpless  charge  were  nearing 
the  Hook  a  great  sea  suddenly  struck  the  Erna  and  turned  her 
over.  It  was  then  that  quick  work  had  to  be  done  by  the  pilots, 
who  put  over  two  yawls  and  rescued  the  crew  of  the  German  ship, 
which  became  a  total  loss. 

The  rescues  effected  by  the  pilots  outside  of  their  work  as  pilots 
were  without  number,  and  hundreds  of  fishermen,  professional  and 
amateur,  owed  their  lives  to  the  promptness  and  bravery  of  the  men 
who,  presumably,  were  stationed  at  Sandy  Hook  and  beyond  only 
for  the  very  commercial  purpose  of  piloting  incoming  ships  into  the 
harbor  and  piloting  outwardbound  ships  safely  past  the  treacherous 
shoal  waters  off  Sandy  Hook  and  inside  the  lower  bay. 


rs 

<& 

—  36 


s  * 


!5 


&3 

&2 


o 

— 

O 
> 

— * 


5    > 

re       ^ 

Be 

**  > 

bd 

a 

o 


THE  TOLL  IN  THE  SIXTIES 

MANY  of  the  pilot  fleet  went  ashore  on  the  beaches  of  New 
Jersey  and  Long  Island  and  as  several  were  pulled  off  and  re- 
placed in  the  service,  it  is  difficult  to  enumerate  the  total  of 
the  vessels  thus  wrecked  and  abandoned  since  1858.  The  Virginia 
went  ashore  near  Rockaway  shoals,  in  the  dense  fog  in  1860.  The 
Edwin  Forrest  was  lost  on  Fire  Island  beach,  in  1862,  and  the  W.  J. 
Romer  struck  a  sunken  wreck  in  1863.  The  William  Bell,  as  before 
related,  was  captured  and  burnt  by  the  Confederate  privateer  Talla- 
hassee in  1864,  and  another  pilot  boat  by  the  same  name  went  ashore 
off  Amagansett  during  a  gale  and  snow  storm,  in  1867.  The  Fav- 
orite and  the  George  Steers  were  wrecked  in  1865. 

The  period  immediately  following  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  was 
quite  as  disastrous  for  the  brave  men  of  Sandy  Hook  as  the  earlier 
days,  as  far  as  the  destruction  of  their  craft  and  the  loss  of  brave  lives 
was  concerned.  Pilot  boat  upon  pilot  boat  had  to  be  built  to  replace 
those  sent  to  the  bottom  either  through  the  great  gales  that  over- 
took the  Sandy  Hook  men  in  the  pursuit  of  their  strenuous  vocation 
or  through  accidents  of  navigation. 

In  1866,  two  days  after  Christmas,  Pilot  John  Fredell  boarded 
the  brigantine  Chris tiania  to  bring  her  into  port  when  the  sailing 
vessel  Avas  rammed  and  sunk  by  the  outgoing  steamer  North  Amer- 
ica, six  miles  east  off  Sandy  Hook.  All  hands  on  the  brigantine 
were  lost  and  it  was  not  until  seven  months  after  the  fatality  oc- 
curred that  the  fate  of  Pilot  Fredell  became  known.  The  North 
America,  returning  from  her  cruise  overseas  on  a  visit  to  New  York 
harbor,  reported  the  accident.  Those  were  the  days  without  wire- 
less and,  as  there  had  been  no  other  vessel  in  the  vicinity  when  the 
crash  between  the  North  America  and  Christiania  occurred,  there 
was  no  way  of  communicating  the  news  of  the  catastrophe  to  these 
shores. 

Twenty  years  before,  in  February,  1846,  Thomas  Freeborne. 
having  boarded  the  ship  John  Minturn,  went  ashore  with  that  vessel 
in  a  gale  that  came  up  when  fourteen  of  the  crew  were  frozen  to 
death,  as  well  as  the  New  York  pilot.  Freeborne  on  that  occasion 
is  recorded  as  having  given  his  coat  to  the  wife  of  the  captain  of 
the  Minturn,  thus  bringing  about  his  own  end  in  a  most  unselfish 
manner.  On  the  highest  hill  in  Greenwood  Cemetery,  in  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  there  stands  a  monument  to  Thomas  Freeborne,  erected  by 
the  citizens  of  Brooklyn  of  those  days,  as  a  testimonial  to  the  self- 
sacrifice  of  this  Sandy  Hook  pilot. 

The  G.  W.  Blunt  was  lost  on  the  Long  Island  shore  about  thirty 
miles  from  Sandy  Hook  lightvessel,  in  1875.  The  Caprice,  that  had 
been  raised  after  having  been  run  down  in  the  Narrows,  foundered 

—  38  — 


-fV 

rw 

..   .. 

^ 

'   "J 
V7 

u 

1 

\J 

-■   ■-[■'  > 

if 

-©> 

L 

I 

/    . 

/-N 

,    j 

L'     J 
/ 

vv 

1 

f\T 

u 

/ 

V7 

off  Barnegat,  in  1878.  The  \V.  II.  Aspinwall  was  lost  in  1880,  and 
tlii'  Francis  Perkins  struck  a  wreck  on  Barneffat  shoals  in  a  gale 
and  snow  storm,  in  1887.  In  the  blizzard  of  March,  1888,  the 
Phantom  and  the  Enchantress  were  lost  at  sea  and  the  W.  II.  Star- 
buck  ran  into  the  steamship  Japanese — one  of  the  few  pilot  boats 
to  take  the  offensive  in  an  accident — and  was  all  but  wrecked.  The 
Edmund  Blunt  and  the  Edward  F.  Williams,  as  well  as  the  W.  W. 
Storey  dragged  their  anchors  and  drifted  ashore  at  Sandy  Hook 
together  with  the  Edward  Cooper  and  the  Centennial  were  aban- 
doned in  the  Horseshoe,  after  ice  jams  had  sent  them  ashore  during 
the  blizzard  of  March,  1888.  It  was  during  the  great  blizzard  that 
the  pilot  boats  Enchantress  and  Phantom,  both  of  which  had  done 
splendid  work  time  and  again  in  the  saving  of  lives  were  lost  and 
were  never  heard  from  again.  The  Enchantress  had  a  narrow 
escape  in  1884.  That  was  talked  about  in  the  cabins  for  many  a 
year.  She  was  weathering  a  gale  off  the  Highlands  and  was  under 
a  double-reefed  mainsail  and  the  head  of  the  jib.  While  tacking 
near  the  shore  she  missed  stays,  became  unmanageable  and  ran  into 
the  schooner  Sarah  &  Lucy,  that  was  anchored  in  the  lee  of  the  land. 
Believing  that  the  pilot  boat  would  sink,  the  two  pilots  and  five 
men  that  were  on  board  leaped  to  the  deck  of  the  schooner.  At  that 
minute  the  wind  struck  the  pilot  boat's  mainsail,  the  sheet  of  which 
was  fast,  and  she  forged  away  from  the  schooner,  headed  out  to 
sea  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness  without  a  soul  on  board.  The 
next  day  the  schooner  brought  the  men  to  the  city.  The  same  day 
the  skipper  of  the  fishing  schooner  Daboll  saw  a  strange  vessel  beat- 
ing about  wildly  approximately  fifteen  miles  south  of  Squam.  He 
ran  down  to  her,  recognized  her  and  thought  something  serious  had 
happened  on  board.  He  kept  close  to  her  until  she  ran  into  the 
wind,  when  he  boarded  her  and  brought  her  to  the  city.  The  dam- 
age to  the  Enchantress  was  slight  and  the  pilots  who  had  abandoned 
her  were  greatly  surprised  when  they  sighted  her  coming  up  the 
bav. 


—  39 


«M 

^ 

OS 
CO 

o 

*-i 

z 

o 

•Jl 

&* 

fc 

U+ 

— - 

O 

s 

3j 

^■^ 

^H 

•** 

^ 

< 

•  5 

H 

w 

^^» 

<J 

2 

nJ 

33 

S^J 

H 

a 

O 

Cra 

i— i 

5* 

i— i 

n , 

13 

05 


THRILLINg  INCIDENTS 

NOT  only  did  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  win  fame  through  their 
bringing  into  or  taking  out  of  the  harbor  of  New  York  the 
gicat  sailing  and  steam  ships  plying  between  America's  great- 
est seaport  and  the  ports  of  the  world,  but  there  are  innumerable 
instances  where  the  Sandy  Hook  men  played  the  parts  of  good  Sa- 
maritans and  life-savers.  That  there  was  much  sentiment  in  the  pro- 
fession of  piloting  may  be  understood  when  the  case  of  Pilot  "Al" 
Dexter  is  cited.  Dexter  was  one  of  the  two  pilots  saved  from  the 
pilot  boat  James  Gordon  Bennett,  when  that  craft  was  cut  in  two 
and  sunk  by  the  Hamburg-American  Line's  Atlas  steamer  Alene,  on 
August  17,  1901,  and  three  pilots  and  a  steward  lost  their  lives.  It 
was  not>  long  after  his  dead  mates  had  been  buried  before  Dexter, 
unable  to  drive  the  harrowing  sight  of  his  drowning  comrades  from 
his  memory,  requested  the  Pilot  Commissioners  to  accept  his 
resignation. 

The  disaster  to  the  James  Gordon  Bennett  is  one  of  the  most  har- 
rowing in  the  annals  of  the  New  York  pilot  service.  J.  F.  Hopkins, 
President  of  the  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Association,  is  still 
here  to  tell  the  story  of  this  graphic  occurrence.  He  swam  around 
for  several  hours  after  the  Hamburg  boat  had  cut  down  the  pilot 
boat,  saw  some  of  the  luckless  members  of  the  pilot  boat's  crew 
drown  under  his  very  eyes,  and  was  himself  saved  only  because  lie 
kept  floating  until  finally  picked  up  by  a  rescue  boat  that  happened 
to  go  back  to  the  actual  spot  of  the  disaster,  although  believing 
that  the  place  of  the  collision  and  sinking  was  half  a  mile  farther 
along  because  the  Alene  had  carried  the  wreckage  of  the  rammed 
James  Gordon  Bennett  fully  half  a  mile  by  the  force  of  the  blow  and 
her   own   speed. 

Incidentally  it  might  be  recorded  right  here  that  Frank  P.  Van 
Pelt,  President  of  the  New  York  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Association, 
and  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  two  combind  asso- 
ciations, also  went  through  a  number  of  accidents  and  disasters,  and 
had  several  perilous  adventures  during  his  pilot  service.  On  the 
pilot  boat  Isaac  Webb  No.  8  he  was  shipwrecked  on  the  Rhode  Island 
coast,  where  the  boat  became  a  total  loss.  He  was  washed  over- 
board from  Columbia  No.  8,  being  unconscious  for  four  hours,  and 
he  was  on  the  Enchantress  when  that  pilot  boat  collided  with  a 
schooner  off  Sandy  Hook.  When  the  steamer  Santiago  struck  and 
sank  the  pilot  boat  J.  F.  Loubat  No.  16  Captain  Van  Pelt  was  one 
of  those  rescued  with  difficulty.  The  two  presidents,  therefore,  hold 
their  positions  by  reason  of  severe  and  strenuous  duties,  well  per- 
formed, and  both  have  the  unqualified  esteem  of  every  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  pilot  in  the  service  today. 

—  41  — 


aa 
W 

^6' 

-6- 

K* 

.r 
V7 

*^ 

U 

AA 

AA 

AA 

AA 

-6- 

-6- 

-6- 

^ 

^ 

w 

',    / 

w 

w 

On  tlie  evening  of  September  29,  1901,  Thomas  F.  Murphy,  who 
had  been  a  pilot  since  the  late  '50s,  took  his  turn  at  the  rail  when 
the  steamship  Allianca  came  up  near  the  lightvessel  and  stopped  for 
a  pilot.  Murphy  had  complained  that  he  was  not  feeling  well,  and 
some  of  his  fellow  pilots  had  urged  him  to  get  into  a  bunk  and  skip 
his  turn  on  duty.  But  the  veteran  was  obdurate  and  insisted  that  he 
would  stick  to  the  rules.  He  brought  the  Allianca  to  a  safe  anchor- 
age off  Quarantine  that  same  night,  and  then  went  to  a  stateroom 
for  rest.  He  never  left  the  ship  alive,  and  the  next  morning  his  body 
was  taken  ashore  and  to  his  home  in  Brooklyn. 

Thomas  Shields,  for  twenty-seven  years  a  pilot,  left  the  steam- 
ship Talisman  outside  of  Sandy  Hook  and  got  safely  into  the  yawl 
that  was  to  take  him  on  board  the  pilot  boat  New  York  on  the 
afternoon  of  December  14,  1907.  A  stiff  gale  was  blowing  at  the 
time,  and  the  veteran  navigator  had  been  chilled  to  the  bone  on  the 
bridge  of  the  freight  steamer  which  he  had  seen  safely  past  the 
Hook.  A  sea  filled  the  yawl,  and  a  second  sea  capsized  her  as  she 
was  nearing  the  New  York,  which  was  lying  to  windward  of  the 
outgoing  steamer.  The  three  men  in  the  yawl  including  Pilot  Shields, 
with  the  two  apprentices  handling  the  oars,  were  thrown  into  the  sea. 
All  caught  lines  thrown  to  them  from  the  New  York  except  Shields, 
who  was  too  much  hampered  by  heavy  clothing  and  the  thorough 
chilling  he  had  been  subjected  to  on  the  Talisman's  bridge,  and  who 
could  not  move  to  save  himself.  He  was  lost  notwithstanding  the 
superhuman  efforts  that   were  made  to   save  him. 

Another  who  sacrificed  his  life  in  the  course  of  his  duty  was 
James  H.  Van  Pelt  whose  father,  also  a  Sandy  Hook  pilot,  had 
also  been  drowned  on  duty.  James  H.  was  a  cousin  of  Frank  P. 
Van  Pelt,  now  President  of  the  New  York  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Asso- 
ciation. The  younger  Van  Pelt  was  struck  on  the  head  by  the  gun- 
wale of  the  yawl  that  was  placing  him  on  board  a  tank  steamer  on 
Sept  19,  1915,  and  was  dead  when  his  limp  body  was  tenderly  lifted 
back  into  the  yawl.  The  fatality  in  his  case  happened  just  before 
dawn,  and  was  due  to  the  darkness  that  prevailed  when  the  veteran 
attempted  to  board  the  incoming  oil-carrier. 


T7 


—  42 


THE  VOMER'S  LONG  VOYAGE 

IN    THE    annals   of   the    piloting   activities   in    New   York    Harbor 
there  is  probably  no  better  illustration  of  the  seaworthiness  of  the 

pilot  boats  used  by  the  brave  guides  around  Sandy  Hook  than  the 
story  of  the  trans-Atlantic  voyage  of  the  William  J.  Homer  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1846.  There  was  a  lot  of  excitement  in  New  York  just  before 
February  6,  of  that  year,  when  it  became  known  that  the  Romer, 
a  seventy-foot  sail  craft,  was  to  set  sail  for  Cork.  The  pilot  boat, 
commanded  by  Captain  James  McGuire,  as  navigator;  John  R. 
Wilkes,  mate;  James  Connor,  second  mate;  both  of  them  Sandy 
Hook  pilots;  Marshall  Green,  cook  and  steward;  George  Colton, 
James  McLeslie  and  Edward  Fryes,  seamen;  and  James  E.  Johnson, 
boatkeeper  and  apprentice  pilot,  a  cousin  of  Josiah  Johnson,  for 
many  years  a  Sandy  Hook  pilot.  There  were  two  passengers  on 
board  the  Romer,  one  of  them  an  attache  of  the  British  Legation 
at  Washington  and  the  other  a  special  agent  of  the  State  Depart- 
ment. Extracts  from  the  log  of  this  eventful  voyage  of  the  Romer 
form  a  prized  souvenir  among  the  records  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots. 
Says  the  log : 

"February  6,  1846.  As  we  passed  out  Sandy  Hook  the  big 
packet  ship  Patrick  Henry  was  just  astern  of  us  and  we  hoped  we 
might  beat  her  on  the  run  across.     The  wind  was  strong  N.N.W. 

"12th.  Experienced  our  first  setback  in  a  strong  easterly  gale. 
Hove-to  under  a  reefed  main  storm  try-sail.  Shipped  a  sea  which 
carried  the  binnacle  overboard.  Blowing  a  hurricane  and  our 
chances  on  keeping  afloat  slim.  Gale  abated,  wind  shifted  to  west, 
made  sail  the  third  day. 

"18th.  Shipped  a  heavy  sea  which  tore  away  part  of  cockpit. 
Running  before  it  with  great  danger  of  being  'pooped'  or  broach- 
ing to.  Here  is  where  the  Patrick  Henry  is  getting  the  better  of 
us. 

"20th.  Lay-to  with  a  drag  out,  blowing  a  hurricane  and  a  tre- 
mendous sea  running. 

"22nd.  Just  before  noon  lashed  the  captain  to  the  mainmast, 
where  he  succeeded  in  getting  the  sun  for  the  first  time  in  several 
days.     Lat.  43.28  passed  a  bark  under  close  reefs  heading  west. 

*  "24th.  While  laying-to  about  7  :30  P.  M.  a  squall  from  the  N.W. 
struck  us  and  buried  the  little  craft  to  the  hatches.  For  a  few 
minutes  she  hesitated  to  right  or  remain  over.  When  she  did  right 
one  big  green  sea  enveloped  her  but  she  shook  it  off.  A  little  later 
it  moderated,  and  in  wearing  ship  a  heavy  sea  "pooped"  her,  nearly 
washing  the  man  at  the  wheel  overboard.  Then  she  broached  to 
and  we  thought  that  was  the  end  of  the  Romer,  but  it  wasn't  to  be. 

—  43  — 


W 

W 

./~s 

W 

^* 

tt 

-6- 

^ 

^ 

w 

"0* 

"0* 

"0" 

"0" 

"0" 

"0" 

^ 

/^ 

!^ 

r\ 

,r\. 

W 

W 

w 

w 

|w 

\J 

During  this  gale  we  lost  our  drag  with  sixty  fathoms  of  hawser, 
the  square-sail  boom  and  yards  and  two  pigs  of  iron  attached. 

"27th.  On  the  afternoon  of  this  day  the  gale  of  three  days 
subsided  and  with  a  fair  wind  cracking  on  we  soon  forgot  past 
dangers,  while  the  little  craft  skimmed  the  dark  waters  like  a  stormy 
petrel  on  our  course  to  the  eastward. 

"March  1.  We  passed  and  spoke  the  packet  ship  St.  Patrick 
from  Liverpool  for  New  York,  the  second  vessel  seen  on  the  passage. 

"4th.  For  the  first  time  during  the  voyage  a  dry  spot  was  visible 
on  the  deck. 

"6th.  At  4:30  P.  M.  made  the  Skelly  Rocks  bearing  N.N.E. 
dist.  18  miles  and  at  11  P.  M.  made  Cape  Clear  light  16  miles 
distant. 

"7th.  At  9  P.  M.  pilot  boarded  us.  and  took  the  Romer  into  the 
harbor  of  Cork,  three  days  after  the  Patrick  Henry  arrived  at 
Queenstown,  after  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  that  could  not  have 
been  more  tempestuous,  but  the  Romer  survived  it." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  valiant  little  pilot  boat  turned' 
about  exactly  six  days  after  arriving  at  Cork  and  left  that  port  on 
March  13,  regardless  of  the  ominous  date,  for  New  York.  On  the 
return  she  took  the  southern  course,  reducing  her  time  of  passage 
two  days,  making  the  distance  from  Cork  to  New  York  in  exactly 
twenty-eight  uneventful  days.  It  was  the  Romer  that  blazed  the 
way,  1846,  for  the  larger  and  more  famous  America,  in  1851.  Both 
boats  were  built  on  pilot-boat  models  and  the  America,  challenger 
for  the  cup  that  has  remained  with  us  ever  since,  was  navigated  by 
Captain  "Dick"  Brown,  also  an  experienced  Sandy  Hooker.  The 
Romer,  after  making  her  famous  round  trip,  resumed  her  work  as 
a  pilot  boat  and  continued  in  that  capacity  for  many  years. 


T7 


Fel 


44 


<•} 


ft. 


s 
ft. 

s 

«0 


Si 

i 
ft. 

ft 

Q 
t3 


00 
■fe- 
Ci 


TO 


© 


-  © 
o 


ft 

s 

ft- 


CO . 

s 

■fc- 
ft- 


C 

> 


f1 
t"1 


O 


© 


<*) 


&. 


< 

^    © 

o 

1— 1 

to    © 
3^ 

K 

.§  "e 

<5 

4)    5 

^ 

^  r-2 

*H 

e  GQ 

i^ 

— 

t— iH 

t-   ^ 

o 

5   | 

*-< 

^  © 

k  H 

V. 

*~ 

^flq 

?,  ^ 

IP 


'-K, 


=: 
si 

*  -* 


$£MERIC$£  S&tILE<D  BY  &£  PILOT 

A  FAIRLY  good  illustration  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilot's  expert- 
ness  in  navigation  is  the  record  of  Captain  ""Dick"  Brown, 
one  of  the  old  school  pilots,  whose  fame  spread  all  over  the 
world  when  he-  took  the  yacht  America  overseas  to  bring  back  the 
cup  that  has  remained  as  the  America  Cup  throughout  the  years 
since  August  22,  18.51.  There  are  no  longer  those  alive  who  knew 
Captain  Dick.  Quoting  from  the  New  York  Tribune  some  years 
back,  just  before  the  Valkyrie  and  Vigilant  competed  for  the  America 
Cup,  with  the  usual  result,  we  read  that  "a  pilot's  career  affords 
valuable  practice  for  developing  sailing  talent.'"  The  constant  and 
varied  handling  of  miscellaneous  craft  is  productive  of  skill  not  to  be 
otherwise  obtained.  The  pilot  thus  becomes  a  ready  sailing  master 
of  either  fore-and-aft  or  square-rigged  vessels.  But  few  remain  of 
the  old-school  pilots  who,  in  former  times,  had  to  guide  nearly  every 
vessel  between  the  "Hook"  and  clear  to  the  wharf,  aided  only  by 
wind  and  sails.  Latter  day  pilots  are  necessarily  prime  sailors  but 
their  comparative  duties  are  considerably  modified  by  the  better  sys- 
tem of  lights  and  other  warning  devices  and  the  help  of  powerful 
sea-going  steam  tugs. 

"Brief  intercourse  with  old-time  pilots  soon  discloses  the  senti- 
ment which  prevails  among  them  for  the  man  who  obtained  great 
fame  while  a  member  of  their  fraternity.  The  elder  pilots  affection- 
ately recall  his  constant  good  nature,  untiring  generosity  and  also 
the  modest  estimation  he  placed  upon  his  vast  skill.  The  writer  (Cap- 
tain Summers,  the  famous  yachting  expert),  who  knew  him  long 
as  a  citizen  and  neighbor,  never  heard  him  allude  to  his  great  achieve- 
ment over  the  English  yachts  with  the  least  emphasis.  He  would 
converse  quietly  on  the  subject,  but  his  remarks  were  chiefly  brief 
responses  to  questions,  and  his  descriptions  were  usually  summed 
up  in  :  'But,  you  see,  we  had  a  good  boat.'  He  was,  of  course,  per- 
sonally gratified  with  his  victory  but  in  his  sturdy,  off-hand  way, 
he  seemed  specially  pleased  because  he  had  taken  part  in  a  success 
which  so  delighted  his  countrymen. 

"According  to  those  who  were  professionally  associated  with 
Captain  Brown,  he  had  a  marked  peculiarity  of  close  supervision 
of  details  on  shipboard  on  all  occasions.  The  least  appurtenance  of 
a  vessel  in  his  charge  had  to  be  promptly  put  and  kept  in  working 
condition,  while  soundness  of  standing  rigging,  freedom  of  running 
gear,  intact  sails,  trustworthy  spars  and  appropriate  distribution  of 
ballast  were  always  considered  on  a  strict  principle  of  'better  be 
sure  than  sorry.'  Many  incidents  of  his  steadiness  of  nerve  and 
ingenious  resources  in  overcoming  adverse  contingencies  in   a  con- 

—  47  — 


fr 

V7 


V7 


6-6- 


£\ 


XJ 


£X 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


,0, 


V7 


JZ\ 


XJ 


w 

w 

\/ 

^ 

W 

Rlfl 


\  / 

\  / 

ft 

test  are  yet  spoken  of  by  the  diminished  group  who  were  his  early 
companions  and  had  the  opportunity  to  witness  his  exploits  during 
his  life.  It  was  his  custom  to  personally  select  every  man  for  his 
racing  crews  and  the  best  sailors  were  always  ready  to  accompany 
the  kindly,  unostentatious  chief  who,  if  it  became  necessary,  would 
throw  off  his  coat  and  lend  a  hand  to  practically  explain  his 
maneuvre."  Such  was  the  estimate  of  Captain  Summers  of  one  of 
the  best-known  Sandy  Hook  pilots  of  his  day  and  there  is  no 
question  but  many  others  of  the  valiant  Sandy  Hook  complement 
are  equally  expert  navigators. 

Captain  Dick  Brown,  by  the  way,  followed  his  profession  as 
Sandy  Hook  pilot  for  many  years  following  his  return  with  the 
America.  He  died  as  the  result  of  exposure  on  a  trip  off  Sandy 
Hook  when  his  feet  became  badly  frost-bitten,  causing  an  infection 
which  proved  fatal  to  the  famous  old  navigator. 

An  interesting  account  of  the  perils  of  the  pilots'  work  is  that 
in  the  old  New  York  Sun,  back  in  June,  1896,  some  six  months  after 
the  old  sail  pilot  boats  were  retired  and  the  new  system  of  steam 
pilotage  was   inaugurated   at   this   port.      Twenty-four   pilot   boats 
were  discarded  during  the  winter  of  1895-1896,  some  of  them  being 
converted  into  fishing  boats,  others  into  yachts.      Half  a  dozen  of 
the  old-time  sailing  boats   were   retained  for   cruising   off   the   New 
Jersey  Coast  as  far  as  Barnegat  and  along  the  Long  Island  coast  as 
far  as  Fire  Island  but  these,  also,  were  withdrawn  within  a  year  or 
so  after  the  fast  steam  pilot  boats  were  put  in   commission.      The 
days  of  tussles  with  cross  seas  and  gales  passed  with  the  passing  of 
the  old  sail  boats  for  the  Sandy  Hook  men  and  the  exposure  to  cold, 
sleet  and  snow  was  greatly  minimized  when  the  steam  pilot  boat  was 
assigned  to  a  station  close  to  the  Scotland  lightvessel.     At  the  ap- 
proach of  a  storm  it  was  the  practice  of  the  old  sail  boats  cruising 
close  inshore  to  run  in  behind  Sandy  Hook  and  find  a  safe  harbor 
except  when  the  conditions  are  similar  to  those  of  the  blizzard  in 
March,  1888,  when  three  pilot  boats  drifted  ashore  on  Sandy  Hook 
beach  and  two  were  abandoned  in  the  ice  in  the  Horseshoe.     Each 
pilot  takes  his  turn  at  the  service  now  and  is  on  board  a  pilot  boat, 
cruising  on  the  stations,  not  much  longer  than  three  days.     The  off- 
shore service  years  ago  sometimes  compelled  a  boat  to  be  at  sea  two 
weeks,  the  service  requiring  staunch,  seagoing  vessels,  that  became 
interesting  features  in  the  annals  of  this  port. 


f^ 


T7 


48  — 


JAMES  D.  M.  BEEBE 

Son  of  Theopholis  Beebe,  one  of  the  first  New  Jersey   pilots.     Captain 
Beebe  served  55  years  as  a  Sandy  Hook  pilot 


— 


^ 


a_| 

©•» 

Oi 

a 

—H 

uc 

,-< 

i»H 

o 

"H 

Oi 

o 

in 

-<i 

~s* 

©4 

w 

Lh 

^ 

■o 

i— i 

~a 

^ 

w 

• 

— H 

^ 

-c 

'-- 

^ 

=^ 

— - 

■o 

Sj 

•^3 

r  ** 

^J 

^ 

£ 

o 

'■<> 

-rt 

^ 


o 


FOU(NDEcRI(NG  OF  THE  EDWARD 

COOPER 

1[KE  many  another  pilot  boat  the  Edward  Cooper  No.  20,  after 
j  figuring  in  the  work  of  salvage  and  rescue  for  some  years,  fell 
victim  to  the  sea's  fury.  Her  doom  came,  strangely  enough, 
on  a  Christmas  morning,  a  morning  that  was  far  from  being  one 
of  "peace  on  earth"  for  the  intrepid  souls  who  were  outside  Sandy 
Hook  in  the  course  of  their  sworn  duty  on  December  25,  1892. 
The  Edward  Cooper  had  been  out  a  week,  cruising  far  out  to  sea, 
waiting  for  incoming  ships.  A  southwest  gale  had  been  raging  all 
night  when,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Pilots  Thomas  Marks 
and  John  Hammer  decided  that  they  had  been  lying  to  in  the  gale, 
on  the  starboard  tack,  long  enough.  They  waited  for  the  sea  to 
moderate  sufficiently  so  that  they  might  wear  around  to  the  port 
tack. 

It  was  while  they  were  trying  to  get  into  a  more  favorable  posi- 
tion with  the  gale  that  the  wind  suddenly  shifted  to  the  northwest 
and  when  those  on  the  Edward  Cooper  made  frantic  efforts  to  steady 
her  and  hold  her  to  the  gale  a  big  sea  came  over  the  starboard  quar- 
ter, with  the  trim  pilot  boat  a  practical  submarine  as  the  waters 
rushed  over  her  deck.  The  main  boom  was  carried  away  by  the  tre- 
mendous smash  of  the  sea,  breaking  the  mainmast  off  at  the  deck. 
The  fallen  stick  was  held  to  the  boat  by  the  steel  cables  that  con- 
nected it  with  the  forestay  and  in  the  great  sea  that  was  running, 
with  the  pilot  boat  out  of  all  control,  the  task  of  lashing  the  broken 
mast  and  preventing  it  from  doing  further  damage  to  the  boat  as 
well  as  endangering  those  on  board,  was  no  easy  matter. 

All  hands — there  Mere  nine  men  on  the  Edward  Cooper,  includ- 
ing the  two  pilots — worked  like  Trojans  to  hold  the  fallen  mast 
in  place,  and  then  to  wear  around  on  the  port  tack,  which  would 
have  eased  the  dismantled  pilot  boat  and  given  those  on  board  some 
measure  of  control.  But  the  fallen  mainmast  broke  away  from  its 
make-shift  lashings  and,  swinging  suddenly  around,  cut  the  foremast 
off  ten  feet  from  the  deck. 

By  dint  of  superhuman  effort,  their  clothes  encrusted  in  ice,  as 
was  the  deck  and  every  particle  of  wreckage  of  the  broken  masts  and 
stays,  those  on  the  Edward  Cooper  finally  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
pilot  boat  around  to  the  port  tack  and  in  clearing  away  some  of  the 
wreckage  that  was  threatening  every  moment  to  swamp  the  Sandy 
Hook  boat.  First  the  thick  layer  of  ice  had  to  be  chopped  away, 
the  ice  forming  almost  as  quickly  as  it  was  removed,  and  then  the 
heavy  timbers  and  rigging  stays  had  to  be  cut  through.  This,  with 
the  deck  so  slippery  that  every  moment  the  workers  were  at  their 
task  threatened  death,  was  hard  and  desperate  work. 

—  51  — 


T7 


S 


^ 


^ 


W 


£\ 


\J 


\&\ 


E 


XT 


^«6*^ 


e-e- 


^ 


V7 


Not  one  of  the  nine  could  make  a  move  towards  attracting  at- 
tention of  a  passing  vessel  if,  indeed,  they  could  have  attracted  one, 
for  snow  was  falling  so  heavily  that  all  about  the  struggling  pilot 
boat  crew  seemed  to  be  an  impenetrable  fog.  So  the  two  pilots  and 
the  seven  men  of  the  Edward  Cooper's  crew  labored  at  the  wreckage, 
out  of  which  they  finally  fashioned  a  drag,  or  a  sort  of  sea  anchor, 
which  tended  to  hold  the  derelict  little  schooner  more  steadily  in  the 
heavy  sea. 

Another  danger  that  threatened  the  pilot  boat's  complement  was 
the  foundering  of  the  little  vessel  by  reason  of  the  great  hole  that 
had  been  made  in  her  deck,  clean  down  to  the  keel,  as  the  foremast 
came  tumbling  down.  Everything  was  filled  with  salt  water  and 
quickly  encrusted  with  ice.  There  was  not  a  drop  of  water  to  drink 
on  board  that  had  not  been  contaminated  by  the  sea  and  the  same 
held  good  with  the  provisions. 

For  two  hours — the  longest  two  hours  in  the  life  of  Captain 
Marks,  who  is  still  on  active  pilot  duty — those  on  the  Edward 
Cooper  strove  to  keep  their  craft  afloat,  hoping  that  some  vessel 
might,  after  the  storm  subsided,  come  their  way  and  effect  a  rescue. 
At  the  end  of  those  two  hours  every  man  on  board  was  at  the  point 
of  collapse  from  exhaustion.  None  could  move  about  except  with 
the  greatest  difficulty,  owing  both  to  the  chilling  grip  of  their  water- 
soaked  clothes  and  the  weight  of  the  encrusting  ice  over  their  outer 
garments. 

Then,  at  seven  o'clock,  crime  a  sudden  rift  in  the  snowstorm. 
As  the  nine  men  looked  up  from  their  work  of  self-preservation  on 
the  Edward  Cooper's  deck,  they  saw  not  half  a  mile  away,  the 
steamship  Marengo,  a  freighter,  bound  for  England.  Those  on  the 
Wilson  Line  vessel  saw  the  Edward  Cooper  as  quickly  as  those  on 
the  Edward  Cooper  sighted  the  Marengo.  The  Marengo's  captain 
"spoke,"  the  derelict  pilot  boat  at  once,  setting  his  signals  to  show 
that  he  was  preparing  to  come  to  the  pilot  boat's  rescue  without 
delay.  Signalling  as  best  they  could,  the  pilots  told  the  Marengo's 
commander,  that  the  Edward  Cooper's  two  life-boats  were  out  of 
commission.  One  had  been  smashed  completely  while  the  other,  the 
transfer  yawl,  had  been  cracked  in  several  places  by  the  seas  that 
broke  on  deck  and  by  the  swinging  about  of  the  derelict  masts. 

The  Marengo  lowered  a  life-boat  with  a  volunteer  crew  which 
managed  to  get  away  and,  after  several  hours'  work,  transferred 
seven  of  the  Edward  Cooper's  company  to  the  Wilson  liner.  Cap- 
tain Marks  and  a  sailor  were  left  on  the  Edward  Cooper  after  the 
second  and  last  trip  of  the  Marengo's  life-boat,  when  the  snowstorm 
set  in  again  as  dense  as  ever  and  all  sight  of  the  Marengo  from  the 


—  52  — 


W 

tv* 

"Q" 

W 

Ol 


v/ 


R5R^RFI 


\7 


to 


'      / 


^ 


'      7 


pilot's   boats  deck  and  of  the   Edward  Cooper  from   the  bridge  of 
the  Marengo  was  lost. 

Pilot  Marks  feared  that,  before  the  Marengo's  boat  could  make 
another  trip  and  take  him  and  his  sailor  companion  off  the  Cooper, 
the  pilot  boat  would  founder,  as  she  was  settling  lower  and  lower  in 
the  water.  So  he  and  the  sailor  plugged  up  the  cracks  in  the  dam- 
aged yawl  as  best  they  could  with  what  offered  at  hand  in  the  way 
of  rags  with  which  to  do  the  plugging,  and  managed  to  get  the 
damaged  yawl  away  from  the  plunging  wreck.  First,  however,  they 
poured  kerosene  over  a  portion  of  the  dismantled  Cooper  and  set 
fire  to  her — a  brave  thing  in  itself  for  they  were  not  then  sure  that 
the  yawl  would  not  be  smashed  against  the  wreck  and  make  it  nec- 
sary  for  them  to  cling  longer  to  the  derelict  schooner. 

But  the  yawl  got  away  safely  and  Marks  and  the  sailor  rowed  as 
they  had  never  rowed  before  and  probably  never  will  row  again. 
Another  rift  in  the  storm  and  they  were  able  to  make  their  way  to 
the  Marengo,  but  it  took  nearly  an  hour  of  maneuvering  before  the 
yawl  could  be  brought  alongside  the  steamship  without  bringing 
her  up  with  a  smash  that  would  send  Pilot  Marks  and  his  companion 
to  their  doom.  The  two  last  survivors  of  the  Edward  Cooper  had 
hardly  gripped  the  rope  ladder  that  hung  over  the  Marengo's  side 
when  the  cracked  and  crushed  yawl  they  had  used  sank  from  sight, 
almost  under  their  feet. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  pilot's  viewpoint  that  the  one  out- 
standing feature,  in  the  minds  of  the  Edward  Cooper's  survivors,  of 
this  particular  Christmas  Day's  frightful  experience,  was  not  the 
foundering  of  the  Edward  Cooper  and  the  narrow  escape  from  death 
of  all  of  her  company,  but  the  fact  that  it  was  Christmas  Day  and 
that  they  did  not  miss  their  Christmas  dinner!  They  enjoyed  that 
meal  on  the  Marengo,  where  they  were  honored  guests,  of  course. 
To  still  further  carry  out  their  viewpoint  of  the  whole  affair,  they 
told  afterwards  how  they  had  been  transferred  one  week  later,  on 
New  Year's  Day  morning,  to  the  tank  steamer  La  Campagne,  bound 
for  New  York,  on  which  vessel  they  had  their  New  Year's  Day  din- 
ner so  that,  notwithstanding  the  slight  incident  of  Christmas  morn- 
ing, they  had  not  missed  their  holiday  meals.  It  is  this  viewpoint 
that,  perhaps,  best  illustrates  the  character  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilot. 
Dangers  are  nothing  to  him,  narrow  escapes  may  be  discounted  as 
much  as  you  like,  but  the  missing  of  a  Thanksgiving,  Christmas  or 
New  Year's  dinner  in  the  safety  of  his  home  or  the  safety  of  some 
vessel,  be  that  a  pilot  boat  or  steamship,  is  something  really  worth 
being  entered  in  life's  log! 


—  53  — 


E-t 

X 

o 


e-H 
55 


I— I 

O 

i— i 

Eh 

*■* 

o 

PQ 
Eh 

q 
>— * 


VOICES  FROM  THE  PAST 

TIME  and  again  a  voice  speaks  as  if  from  the  grave  in  the  history 
of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  and  their  splendid  fleet  of  little 
sailers  before  the  days  of  steam  pilotage.  In  1873  Abraham 
Jones,  Josiah  Johnson,  Frank  Penay  and  Louis  Samson  built  the 
Edmund  Blunt  No.  2,  which  did  her  full  share  of  the  work  of  piloting 
during  the  intervening  years  between  her  launching  and  the  great 
blizzard  in  1888.  Then  she  went  ashore  in  the  blinding  snowstorm  of 
March,  that  year,  on  the  Long  Island  coast.  Abraham  Jones  had 
been  a  pilot  at  Sandy  Hook  since  1851  and  was  in  the  ill-fated 
Columbia  when  that  pilot  craft  was  cut  in  two  by  a  schooner  in  the 
late  sixties.  With  Johnson,  Penay  and  Samson,  he  built  the  Edmund 
Blunt  and  remained  in  her  until  his  death  in  1881.  The  Blunt,  upon 
the  advent  of  steam  in  the  pilot  service,  was  sold  along  with  most 
of  the  other  sail  pilot  boats.  A  few  months  ago  Chauncev  H. 
Jones,  son  of  the  former  veteran  Sandy  Hook  pilot,  in  making  a 
pleasure  trip  to  the  West  Indies,  came  upon  the  little  craft  upon 
which  his  father  had  cruised  the  waters  outside  of  Sandv  Hook.  The 
former  Edmund  Blunt  is  now  doing  ferry  duty  between  several  of  the 
smaller  islands  of  the  West  Indies  group,  a  motor  having  been 
placed  in  her  since  she  was  purchased  out  of  the  New  York  pilot 
service.  She  appeared  as  staunch  as  when  the  elder  Jones  sailed  in 
her  during  the  old  piloting  days  and  undoubtedly  will,  barring  acci- 
dent, do  long  service  in  her  foreign  surroundings. 

Captain  "Dick"  Brown  who,  as  is  told  elsewhere  in  this  history, 
was  picked  from  the  roster  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  to  sail  the 
yacht  American  to  victory  in  the  first  cup  challenge  race  at  Cowes, 
received  a  fine  pair  of  marine  glasses  from  Queen  Victoria  about  a 
week  after  the  historic  event  in  1851,  upon  the  occasion  of  a  five- 
hour  sail  on  the  America  enjoyed  by  the  Queen,  the  late  King 
Edward  (then  Prince  of  Wales)  and  a  favorite  lady-in-waiting  to 
the  Queen.  This  relic  of  the  first  America  Cup  race  is  the  prop- 
erty of  a  New  Yorker,  R.  A.  L.  Brackett,  Captain  Brown's  son-in- 
law.  The  famous  pilot  who  won  the  America  cup  for  us  used  the 
glasses  for  a  long  time  after  his  triumphant  return  from  England, 
in  his  work  as  Sandy  Hook  pilot. 

After  their  retirement  from  pilot  work  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots 
have  seldom  undertaken  other  activities,  especially  not  activities  on 
land.  Old  Nathan  Wood,  still  alive  and  active  today  at  eighty-six, 
made  the  cryptic  remark  to  the  writer  that  "a  sailor  can  never 
make  a  good  farmer."  Old  Mr.  Wood  tried  it,  so  he  knows.  He 
Avent  through  all  kinds  of  weather  and  all  manner  of  accidents  but 
was  unable  to  stick  to  his  job  as  pilot  until  he  had  done  his   full 

—  55  — 


XT 


XT 


XT 


& 


m 


XT 


^, 


XJ 


>c\ 


XT 


XJ 


£\ 


XT 


ZZ, 

XJ 


ZZ 


XJ 


ZZ 


XJ 


zz 


XJ 


MM 


duty,  i.e.,  to  bring  the  vessel  under  his  care  safely  into  port  or 
safely  out  of  it.  But  when,  upon  his  retirement,  he  essayed  the 
role  of  rustic  on  a  quiet  farm  near  Rutherford,  New  Jersey,  he 
found  he  could  not  do  his  work  at  all  after  making  the  acquaintance 
of  some  poisoned  ivy  on  his  hand.  Disgustedly  he  turned  from  his 
bucolic  labors  with  the  remark :  "Give  me  seaweed  instead  of  this 
land  stuff.     Seaweed  never  poisoned  anybody." 

Occasionally,  the  pilots  would  play,  but  not  often.  Their  play 
would  take  the  form  of  racing  their  swift  and  graceful  vessels  in 
regattas  of  their  own  or  as  entries  in  such  events  along  the  Atlantic 
Coast.  So  it  was  that  the  pilot  boat  T.  S.  Negus  No.  1  won  a  notable 
victory  over  her  competitors  at  the  famous  Cape  May  Regatta  in 
1873,  one  of  the  greatest  local  yacht  racing  events  along  our  coast 
for  schooners  of  the  smaller  class. 


XT 


—  56  — 


NATHAN  WOOD 

One  of  the  oldest  pilots  in  years  and  in  point  of  service  when  he  retired 

in  1917  at  the  age  of  82 


WA<R  SERVICE 

WHEN  the  United  States  declared  war  upon  Spain,  in  1898, 
President  McKinley  had  at  his  disposal  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  most  experienced  pilots  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  as 
a  patrol  and  piloting  force  for  the  American  Navy.  Of  this  total  a 
large  percentage  represented  the  complete  personnel  of  the  New 
York  and  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  pilots.  The  steam  pilot  boat 
New  York,  then  in  service  but  a  year  or  so,  was  promptly  offered  to 
the  government  by  the  Sandy  Hook  guides  as  a  scout  ship,  with 
pilots  hereabouts  all  of  them  eager  to  serve  as  government  pilots  or 
as  scouts  on  the  ships  of  the  navy  sent  to  Northern  waters  to  watch 
the  harbors  and  the  unguarded  coast  stretches.  Spain's  efficiency 
as  a  naval  power  was  not  then  so  well  known  in  the  United  States  as 
it  was  after  the  battle  of  Manilla  and  there  was  much  speculation 
as  to  how  our  extensive  coast  line  and  our  numerous  important  At- 
lantic harbors  were  to  be  protected.  The  fact  that  Germany,  for 
one,  seemed  anxious  to  assist  the  Spaniards  by  selling  them  some  of 
her  fastest  merchantmen  as  commerce  destroyers  added  to  the  gen- 
eral disquietude  and  the  offer  from  the  Atlantic  Coast  pilots  in  gen- 
eral and  from  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  in  particular  came  as  a  welcome 
message  to  the  public  as  well  as  to  the  government.  The  declara- 
tion that  was  signed  by  the  pilots  and  sent  to  President  McKinley 
said: 

'"We,  the  undersigned  New  York  pilots  (the  New  Jersey  pilots 
concurring),  realizing  the  usefulness  to  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States  our  steam  pilot  boat  New  York  would  be  in  case  of  war  with 
Spain,  do  hereby  authorize  our  Executive  Committee  to  request  the 
New  York  Pilot  Commissioners  to  offer  to  the  United  States  such  aid 
and  assistance  as  our  knowledge  of  the  coast  from  Nantucket  to 
the  Capes  of  Virginia  makes  possible." 

Equally  to  the  point  were  the  resolutions  adopted  at  the  time  by 
the  Manhattan  Harbor  of  the  American  Association  of  Masters  and 
Pilots,  which  quoted  from  General  Grant's  statement  that,  without 
the  assistance  of  the  pilots,  the  Civil  War  "would  have  been  con- 
tinued indefinitely"  and  that  there  was  "no  class  of  men  who  ren- 
dered better  service  or  risked  more  than  the  licensed  officers  of  steam 
vessels."  In  these  resolutions  General  Grant  was  also  quoted  as 
having  stated  that  "without  the  volunteer  pilots  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  have  taken  Belmont,  Donelson,  Memphis  and  Vicks- 
burg." 

Few  realize  the  very  great  work  that  was  done  during  the  more 
recent  world  war  by  the  men  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilot  boats,  those 
skilled  seamen  and  navigators,  who,  despite  the  menace  of  German 
submarines    along  our   shores,  kept   the   sea   clear  far   off  Ambrose 

—  58  — 


XJ 


\J 


\  I 


/  \ 


w 


i  \ 


\T 


BESfSIS 


\  / 


\  / 


/ ., 


XJ 


\  I 


WW5\ 


Channel   and    safety    brought    our   ships    into    port,    says    ;i   writer 
in  the  New  York  Evening  World,  of  March  9,%  1919.     It  was  their 
duty  to  guide  all  troop-laden  transports  and  dynamite-laden  mer- 
chantmen through  the  channels  and  out  to  sea,  sometimes  handling 
convoys  of  as  many  as  sixty  ships  a  day.     Their  work  required  an 
expert  knowledge  of  the  harbor  and  its  constantly  changing  shoals. 
Throughout  the  war,  when  the  customary  lights  could  not  be  shown 
and    the    dozens    of    dynamite-laden    ships,    leaving    port    at    night, 
crowding  the  channel  like  sheep,  it  was  only  the  skill  of  the  pilots 
that  brought  them  through.     A  collison,  any  slight  mishap,  might 
have  meant  a  repetition  of  the  Halifax  catastrophe.     But  the  pilots 
knew  their  trade  and  there  were  no  collisions.     Far  at  sea  the  pilot 
boats  keep  their  constant  patrol.     Their  station  is  around  the  Am- 
brose Channel  lightvcssel,  four  miles  southeast  of  the  Ambrose  Chan- 
nel buoy  No.  2,  the  offshore  entrance  to  the  channel.     A  pilot  must 
be  a  cosmopolitan  and  must  know  a  bit  of  every  language,  from  low 
German  to  Chilian  jargon.     Every  day  he  has  a  different  ship  and  a 
different  tongue.     One  day  he  will  sip  schnapps  and  eat  smoerges- 
brod  with  the  captain  of  a  Norwegian  tramp  steamer  while  tomor- 
row his  mess  may  be  fried  peppers,  Bacardi  rum,  black  Rio   coffee 
and  a  long  twist  of  Habana  on  a  Spanish  mail  liner.     For,  where- 
ever  he  gor      the  pilot  is  always  an  honored  guest. 

When  the  submarines  were  operating  off  the  American  coast  and 
the  great  convoys  were  setting  to  sea  weekly,  the  pilot  boats  kept 
on  station,  their  lights  extinguished  (except  running  lights)  and 
port  holes  closed  and  waited  in  the  darkness  offshore  when  only 
armed  naval  vessels,  looking  for  raiders,  dared  to  keep  the  seas. 

A  curious — although  nearly  fatal — occurrence  may  be  cited  as 
showing  the  risks  the  pilots  took  during  those  war  days.  A  yawl 
from  the  station  pilot  boat  had  put  out  in  order  to  place  a  pilot  on 
the  incoming  converted  merchantman  Ryndam,  then  used  by  the 
United  States  as  an  army  transport,  when  those  on  the  Ryndam, 
mistaking  the  yawl  for  a  submarine,  opened  fire  on  the  little  open 
boat.  By  great  good  luck  the  shots  went  over  the  yawl  and  the 
pilot  finally  was  able  to  make  the  Ryndam  in  safety. 


W 

—  59  — 


&5    ^> 


>     *     g    5 

Ed  ^ 


O     Eh. 


O    ~~    ^     ^ 

— ,     v.    *  ^ 
Eh      ft     =: 


a-* 


•"*     5 


/^     =    ^    v 


T-i     *> 


SOME  ITEMS  FROM  THE  LOg 

FROM  the  logs  of  the  steam  pilot  boats  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey (the  latter  since  lost)  are  taken  a  few  random  records  of 
assistance  rendered  from  time  to  time  by  the  pilots  and  their 
boats  to  vessels  and  crews  while  in  distress  within  the  Sandy  Hook 
cruising  grounds  since  the  reorganization  of  the  pilotage  system  on 
December  1,  1895.  Many  of  these  records  deal  with  pilot  boats  other 
than  the  New  York  and  the  New  Jersey,  but  the  logs  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  newer  boats  when  these  were  placed  in  commission. 

The  pilot  boat  Joseph  Pulitzer,  for  instance,  rescued  part  of  the 
crew  and  some  of  the  passengers  of  the  schooner  Georgiana  Young, 
who  had  abandoned  their  ship  after  it  had  stranded  in  an  easterly 
gale,  on  Roamer  Shoal,  and  who  were  adrift  in  an  open  dory  in 
the  lower  bay.  That  was  in  July,  1897,  and  in  the  same  month  the 
pilot  boat  Alexander  M.  Lawrence  rescued  those  on  the  Virginia 
sloop  Fawn,  of  which  rescue  note  is  made  in  another  part  of  this 
history. 

A  bit  of  Spanish  War  history  is  included  in  the  phlegmatic 
paragraph  in  the  pilot  boat  New  York's  log  relating  to  the  visit  of 
the  Spanish  cruiser  Yiscaya  to  New  York  Harbor  on  February  20, 
1898,  which  visit  'was  intended  by  the  Spaniards  to  duly  impress 
Americans  with  the  futility  of  going  to  war  with  Spain's  mighty 
navy.  "The  Spanish  cruiser  Yiscaya,"  says  the  New  York's  log, 
"after  being  delayed  outside  the  bar  on  account  of  thick  weather, 
unable  to  proceed,  was  convoyed  by  pilot  steamer  New  York  in  that 
the  said  New  York  proceeded  ahead  of  the  Yiscaya  and  successfully 
led  her  up  to  the  Narrows,  from  where  she  proceeded  unassisted  to 
her  anchorage." 

On  September  21,  of  the  same  year,  the  New  York  "fell  in  with 
the  brig  Ora  well  to  leeward  off  the  Highlands,  wind  northeast,  in- 
creasing. Put  pilot  aboard  of  her  and  towed  said  brig  from  her 
perilous  position  to  windward,  from  where  she  could  fetch  to  a  safe 
anchorage." 

"February  26,  1899.  Off  Sandy  Hook  lightship,  supplied  Brit- 
ish steamship  Fernfield,  outward  bound,  with  marine  glasses"  is  an- 
other modest  entry  in  the  log  of  the  New  York  and  the  next  month 
the  same  pilot  boat  recorded  that  she  had  "assisted  during  the 
night  the  U.  S.  S.  Clearwater  through  the  Gedney  Channel  with  the 
aid  of  our  searchlight,  the  Gednev's  lighted  buoys  being  out." 

In  April  of  the  same  year  the  New  York's  log  records  that  it 
supplied  the  outgoing  steamship  Thomas  Melville '  (British)  with  a 
sextant  and  on  June  13,  1899,  the  New  York  records  having  taken 
on  board  from   the  pilot  boat  Hermann  Oelrichs,   the   crew   of  the 

—  61  — 


^ 

1  \ 

,1  \ 

/  \ 

w 

T7 


T7 


17 


F&1 


T7 


P3] 


H 


V7 


Y7 


\7 


T7 


German  steamship  Macedonia,  which  was  sunk  off  Seabright,  X.  J., 
in  collision  with  the  steamship  Hamilton  and  which  crew  had  been 
rescued  by  the  Oelrichs. 

The  United  States  transport  Meade  got  in  trouble  outside  Sandy 
Hook  on  November  6,  1899,  and  one  hundred  passengers  and  crew- 
were  taken  off  the  transport  and  landed  at  Quarantine  station  by 
the  New  York. 

On  the  evening  of  February  1,  1901,  an  accident  occurred  on  the 
British  steamship  Circassian  Prince,  outside  Sandy  Hook  bar, 
whereby  her  chief  engineer  suffered  the  loss  of  an  eye.  The  New 
York  took  off  the  Circassian  Prince's  captain  as  well  as  the  injured 
engineer,  conveyed  them  to  Quarantine,  where  the  engineer's  injuries 
were  dressed  by  the  doctors,  and  then  conveyed  the  two  men  back 
to  the  steamship  outside  the  Hook,  from  where  the  Circassian  Prince 
proceeded  on  her  voyage. 

"At  1:35  P.  M.  (July  18,  1901)  saw  smoke  issuing  from  the 
ship  Commodore  T.  H.  Allen,"  says  the  log  of  the  New  York.  "We 
steamed  alongside  and  found  ship  abandoned  by  her  crew ;  we  put 
five  pilots  and  one  apprentice  on  board  and  took  hawser  to  the  ship 
which,  in  the  meantime,  had  drifted  ashore.  When  hawser  parted 
we  went  alongside,  at  2:45  P.  M.  and  later  pulled  her  off  and  an- 
chored her  in  Sandy  Hook  Bay,  still  burning.  Pilot  boat  New  York 
and  several  tugs  kept  pumping  until  10:30  A.  M.  next  day,  when 
the  fire  was  extinguished." 

The  pilot  boats  Ambrose  Snow  and  Washington  effected  two 
rescues  on  September  8  and  September  16,  1903,  respectively,  when 
the  crews  of  the  naphtha  launch  Chief  (eight  men)  and  an  unnamed 
sloop  (two  men  and  a  woman)  were  taken  on  board  in  safety.  The 
Chief  had  become  disabled  in  the  lower  bay  and  the  little  sloop  had 
dragged  her  anchor  in  Gravesend  Bay,  fouled  the  pilot  boat  when 
the  Washington  was  trying  to  effect  a  rescue,  and  had  been  pounded 
to  pieces  against  the  Washington's  side. 

Of  much  interest  to  those  whose  business  or  pleasure  takes  them 
to  and  fro  past  Sandy  Hook  is  the  significance  attached  to  the  odd 
and  striking  names  by  which  many  of  the  lightships,  buoys,  etc.,  are 
known.  Among  the  several  that  are  thus  designated  is  the  Scotland 
lightship,  which  was  so  named  after  the  British  steamship  Scotland 
was  wrecked  after  having  been  in  collision  with  an  American  sailing 
ship,  only  part  of  whose  crew  was  saved.  After  proceeding  a  little 
way  into  port,  the  Scotland  sank  in  what  is  known  as  the  Outer 
Middle.  A  lightship  was  placed  over  the  wreck  by  the  company  that 
attempted  and  later  did  raise  the  sunken  Britisher  and  when  this  was 


—  62 


f  \ 

J  V  <   '-J 

\J 

u 

-e- 

tfte 

f 

\  1 

w 

J 

\  1 

/.\ 


/  ., 


/z\ 


"0"U^O"U*3 


j  .. 


,.  . 


accomplished  the  lightship  was  removed.  Shipping  interests  peti- 
tioned the  government  to  re-establish  the  lightship  ;it  this  point  and 
so  came  into  being  the  Scotland  lightship,  named  after  the  steamer 
that  was  sunk  at  that  point  many  long  years  ago.  Likewise  came 
about  the  naming  of  Quickstep  Buoy,  near  the  West  Bank,  in  the 
Lower  Bay  of  New  York  Harbor.  Many  of  the  thousands  of  com 
muters  and  excursionists  who  pass  the  buoy  during  each  year  prob- 
ably think  that  the  danger  signal  was  named  after  a  popular  form 
of  dance,  particularly  in  vogue  years  ago.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
buoy  commemorates  the  sinking  of  the  American  bark  Quickstep, 
after  being  run  down  by  a  British  steamer  outward  bound.  After  the 
wreck  of  the  bark  was  removed,  a  bell-buoy  was  placed  on  the  spot 
to  mark  a  shoal  that  had  formed  there  and  it  has  ever  since  then 
been  called  the  Quickstep  Buoy. 


T7 


—  68 


«     2 

|0h 

^j 

.5  i-sj 

to  ■*- 

<;  *— ■ , 

m  c 

°s  r. 

i^. 

^ 

w 

o 

< 

0  -c 

Oh 

to 

O 

£    53 

Z 

^  § 

HH 

^: 

l-J 

~-  '■-* 

Kj 

s     to 

l-H 

S  -S: 

Oh 

5    a 


<     Z  < 


53 

4i 

to 
5i 

a 

~5 

Bq 

p 

■^ 

s 

to 

"  c* 

-— 

; — 

O 

L_ 

C5 

<R  A  CI<Ng  FOR  &£  SHIP 

IN  the  old  days  of  sail,  when  each  pilot  boat  operated  independ- 
ently, there  existed  the  keenest  rivalry  between  the  various  pilot 
teams,  or  companies,  as  they  were  sometimes  called.  Each  pilot 
boat  was  owned  by  a  distinct  group  of  pilots,  some  of  the  boats 
attached  to  the  New  York  Sandy  Hook  pilot  service  and  some  to  the 
New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  pilot  service.  It  was  always  a  question 
who  would  get  to  the  incoming  vessel  first,  and  then  it  remained  with 
the  captain  of  the  ship  to  select  his  pilot  boat — although  the  captain 
generally  picked  out  the  boat  that  had  come  under  his  lee  ahead  of 
the  others.  As  a  result  of  this  condition  of  affairs  many  a  hotly 
contested  and  thrilling  race  has  been  sailed  off  Sandy  Hook  with 
victory  meaning  but  the  chance  to  earn  their  daily  bread  for  the 
victors. 

Typical  of  this  feature  in  the  daily  life  of  the  pilot  of  those  days 
is  the  story  of  such  a  race  in  which  the  pilot  boats  Mary  A.  Wil- 
liams, William  H.  Bateman  and  Edmund  Blunt  competed  for  honors 
on  a  beautiful  morning  in  May,  1890,  as  related  by  an  eye  witness. 

On  this  particular  May  morning  the  pilots  out  on  cruising  duty 
knew  that  several  big  ocean  liners  were  nearing  port  and  so  the 
scouting  was  rather  intense  as  a  big  ocean  liner  was  a  prize,  from  a 
material  standpoint,  well  worth  striving  for.  So,  on  board  the  Bate- 
man, Williams  and  the  Blunt,  the  three  boats  that  happened  to  be 
in  the  same  general  location,  some  200  miles  outside  of  Sandy  Hook, 
everyone  was  on  the  qui  rite  for  the  sight  of  a  sail  or  a  puff  of 
smoke  on  the  horizon.  No  racing  yachts  ever  were  more  ready  for 
the  dash  over  the  line  than  were  these  three  pilot  boats.  Not  a 
stray  coil  of  rope  or  equipment  of  any  sort  remained  on  deck  and 
every  sail  was  ready  to  be  adjusted  at  an  instant's  notice  from  the 
pilot  commanding  each  boat. 

At  the  rail  stood  the  pilots  on  each  of  the  three  boats,  binocu- 
lars in  hand,  sweeping  the  thin,  wavy  line  that  separated  the  sea 
from  the  sky  on  the  horizon  while  the  sun  shone  brightly  on  the 
ocean,  with  the  sea  still  restless  under  the  influence  of  the  previous 
day's  storm.  A  stiff  breeze  was  blowing,  which  called  for  expert 
jockeying  by  the  navigators  on  the  three  pilot  boats  so  as  to  keep 
in  a  favorable  position  in  the  event  of  a  sudden  signal  to  start 
ahead.  Taken  all  in  all,  no  conditions  could,  from  a  weather  stand- 
point, have  been  more  perfect  for  a  trial  of  speed  and  seamanship 
and,  as  later  developments  showed,  it  proved  to  be  all  of  that. 

Towards  nine  o'clock  the  lookout  on  the  Bateman  shouted  that 
he  saw  smoke,  many  miles  away.  There  was  a  hurrying  of  sailors 
on  the  Bateman's  deck  and  in  a  jiffy  her  sails  spread  to  the  breeze 
and  the  graceful  schooner  was  under  way.     She  had  not  moved  for- 

—  65  — 


t7 


\T 


\J 


^ 


^CX 


T7 


T7 


,£X 

XT 


T7 


TJirw 


^\ 


V7 


T7 


zx 


XT 


W 


VJ 


XJ 


XJ 


ffl 


\7 


ward  a  yard,  however,  before  the  same  activity  was  evidenced  on  the 
Williams  and  on  the  Blunt.  Although  the  Bateman,  known  as  a 
tremendously  swift  sailer,  had  a  slight  advantage  in  the  matter  of 
start,  the  three  pilot  boats  practically  got  off  on  equal  terms,  their 
common  goal  the  fitful  puffs  of  smoke  that  blew  with  tantalizing 
uncertainty  over  the  horizon,  towards  the  southeast. 

From  the  moment  that  the  three  pilot  craft  got  under  full  speed, 
their  great  masts  bending  under  the  weight  of  canvas  caught  by  the 
breeze,  it  became  a  neck-and-neck  race.  Swiftly  the  trio  of 
schooners  cut  gracefully  through  the  sea,  now  rising  with  their  bows 
far  above  the  surface,  then  dipping  into  the  trough  only  to  rise 
again  apparently  more  grimly  determined  than  ever.  As  the  contest 
was  later  described  by  the  pilots  competing  in  the  race,  it  seemed 
as  if  the  boats  had  become  imbued  with  the  importance  of  the 
struggle  and  each  was  striving  to  secure  the  lead,  and  hold  it,  quite 
as  much  as  those  on  board  who  were  guiding  her. 

It  was  an  hour  after  the  smoke  had  been  first  seen  from  the 
Bateman  that  the  pilots  on  the  three  pilot  boats  made  out  the  iden- 
tity of  the  approaching  vessel.  She  was  the  Rhein,  a  North  German 
Lloyd  ship,  bound  from  Bremen  to  New  York.  As  pilots  cruised  as 
far  as  600  miles  out  of  Sandy  Hook  in  those  days,  there  still 
remained  the  possibility  that  the  race  between  the  Blunt,  Bateman 
and  Williams  might  prove  to  have  been  in  vain — for  the  Rhein 
might  have  picked  up  a  pilot  long  before  her  smoke  was  made  out 
from  the  Bateman  and  her  two  competitors.  This  contingency, 
however,  did  not  prevent  the  navigators  of  the  three  pilot  boats  from 
making  a  try  for  the  steamship  and  so  they  came,  head-on  towards 
the  broad  starboard  of  the  Rhein,  the  wind  from  the  northwest  tip- 
ping the  three  schooners  over  on  their  starboard  beams,  with  the 
brilliant  sun  high  up  in  the  eastern  sky,  forming  a  scene  which,  from 
the  decks  of  the  German  steamship,  must  have  been  one  of  unusual 
beauty.  In  fact,  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Rhein  sketched  the  scene 
so  effectively  that  he  was  able  to  give  it  with  accurate  detail  to  an 
artist  ashore,  later  on,  who  in  turn  produced  a  picture  that  appears 
almost  as  flawless  as  a  modem  photograph. 

Inch  by  inch  the  Bateman  forged  ahead  in  the  splendid  contest 
that  held  those  on  the  steamship  spellbound.  On  each  of  the  three 
pilot  boats  a  pair  of  glasses  held  the  Rhein's  navigating  bridge — for 
the  sight  of  a  possible  confrere  of  those  on  the  Bateman,  Blunt  and 
Williams  which  would  mean  the  uselessness  of  striving  for  the  German 
ship's  patronage.  On  the  liner  even  the  captain  stood  enraptured  by 
the  wonderful  spectacle  of  these  swift  schooner  yachts  striving  for 
the  masterv. 


—  66  — 


1    s 

V7 

< 

,r\. 

u 

,1   , 

\J 

w 

u 

.^^.  .^.  .^. 

1 

w 

-o- 

kt 

V7 

Equal  as  the  contest  appeared  to  be  from  the  deck  of  the  Rhein, 
on  the  Williams  and  the  Blunt  they  could  more  accurately  visual- 
ize the  situation  and  there  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  helms- 
men of  those  two  boats  that  the  Bateman  either  was  the  faster  craft 
or  was  being  handled  just  a  trifle  more  daringly  than  either  of  the 
others. 

Finally  the  Rhein  slowed  down,  which  was  the  sure  signal  for 
those  on  the  racing  pilot  boats  that,  as  yet,  the  German  had  not 
taken  on  a  pilot  and  that  the  prize  would  fall  to  one  of  the  three 
little  vessels  that  were  racing  to  her  side. 

On  came  the  three  racers,  gliding  like  silvery  things  over  the 
waves  at  times  and  at  others  dipping  gracefully,  yet  fearfully,  in  the 
Avatery  abysses  between  the  mighty  seas. 

Still  in  the  lead,  although  by  less  than  a  dozen  yards,  the  Bate- 
man's  navigator  at  last  raised  his  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  Rhein's 
bridge.  Up  came  the  left  arm  of  the  German's  captain,  with  a  mo- 
tion of  the  hand  indicating  that  the  Bateman  pilot  would  be  "taken 
on,"  and  the  race  was  over.  Real  sportsmen,  however,  were  the  de- 
feated crews  of  the  Blunt  and  Williams.  As  the  two  boats  wore 
off  in  a  graceful  semi-circle  their  crews  gave  three  rousing  cheers  a? 
a  tribute  to  the  skill  and  daring  that  had  won  a  hard  fought  and 
fairly-sailed  victory.     Such  was  the  spirit  of  the  craft. 


T7 


T7 


—  67  — 


o    I 

o 


«     2 


pq    -^ 

O    *e 


M 


PILOTS  CARRIED  ACROSS 

ORE  so  ill  the  old  days  than  now,  pilots  were  often  carried 
across  the  ocean  because  very  severe  weather  made  it  impos- 
sible either  to  locate  the  "station  boats"  from  outgoing  ships 
or  to  attempt  a  transfer.  This  held  good  for  foreign  pilots  who  were 
brought  here,  having  been  unable  to  leave  ship  when  out  of  a  foreign 
port  and  so  made  an  involuntary  pilgrimage  to  the  United  States. 
Many  of  the  Sandy  Hook  men  "went  abroad"  without  notice  or 
intent  this  way,  the  news  of  their  involuntary  journey  being  brought 
home  by  one  of  their  fellows.  And,  in  the  old  days,  that  meant  a 
long  absence  from  home.  Ships  took  longer  to  make  the  round  trip 
and  a  Sandy  Hook  pilot's  absence  from  his  home  station,  after  being 
carried  across  the  Atlantic,  often  was  a  matter  of  six  weeks  or  more. 

The  greater  interest  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  always  lay,  of 
course,  in  the  foreign  pilot  who  was  carried  across  on  the  westward 
voyage  out  of  a  European  port.  Whenever  such  a  thing  came  about 
the  newcomer  was  heralded  in  the  public  prints  for,  as  a  general  rule, 
it  was  the  foreign  pilot's  first  peep  into  America.  The  pilot  would 
come  as  a  guest  of  the  ship's  captain  and  go  back  with  him  the  same 
way,  remaining  as  the  ship's  guest  during  its  stay  in  New  York  har- 
bor. Just  how  this  would  work  in  the  case  of  a  pilot  unable  to  leave 
his  ship  when  on  a  vessel  destined  for  a  distant  port,  not  a  regular 
transatlantic  liner  but  a  "tramp"  freighter  is  not  in  the  records. 
Sandy  Hook  pilots  have,  in  many  instances,  been  carried  across  on 
transatlantic  liners  but  one  has  never,  as  far  as  the  records  show, 
been  carried  beyond  the  Sandy  Hook  lightship  on  a  freighter  bound 
for  the  other  end  of  the  earth. 

But  being  carried  across  the  Atlantic  ;>nd  being  thus  forced  to 
enjoy  a  vacation  at  the  expense  of  the  steamship  company  owning 
the  vessel  on  which  he  was  an  involuntary  passenger  was,  even  with 
its  loss  of  time,  not  one  of  the  most  severe  hardships  the  Sandy  Hook 
pilot  could  experience.  On  the  way  over  and  back  again,  as  well  as 
the  time  spent  in  the  foreign  port  between  the  arrival  and  departure, 
the  Sandy  Hook  pilot  was  the  honored  guest  on  board.  Both  in  the 
old  days,  when  the  pilots  worked  in  independent  groups  and  today, 
when  they  pool  their  earnings  of  the  combined  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  Pilots  Associations,  such  an  involuntary  absence  would  bring 
no  personal  money  loss  to  the  absentee,  except  that,  in  the  old  days, 
the  particular  independent  group  to  which  the  absentee  belonged 
would  have  one  man  less  to  work  for  that  particular  group  and 
would,  therefore,  stand  to  lose  some  pilotage  business. 

Speaking  of  being  carried  across,  reminds  the  writer  of  an  in- 
teresting incident  that  befell  Captain  George  Oldmixon  wherein  he 
narrowly  missed  a  trip  to  Southampton  as  the  involuntary  guest  of 

—  69  — 


jX\ 


XJ 


Fel 


w 

w 

V7 

u 

-e-e-e-e-e-e-e- 


XJ 


£X 


XJ 


r\ 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


A 


XJ 


\i5\ 


/-X 


XJ 


Captain  Mills,  commanding  the  S.  S.  Philadelphia  of  the  American 
Line. 

On  December  14,  1907,  the  same  day  that  Theo.  Shields  lost  his 
life  as  related  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  Captain  Oldmixon  was  tak- 
ing out  the  Philadelphia.  A  terrific  southeast  gale  was  blowing  and 
the  air  was  so  filled  with  the  driven  snow  that  one  could  hardly  see 
a  boat's  length  ahead!  except  during  those  odd  moments  in  a  storm 
when  everything  seems  to  ease  up  for  a  spell  to  give  the  storm  king 
a  chance  to  get  a  fresh  hold  for  a  still  fiercer  blast.  Going  down 
Ambrose  Channel  the  gale  caught  the  ship  so  hard  that  great  green 
seas  repeatedly  broke  over  her  bows.  It  was  one  of  the  worst  storms 
ever  experienced  off  Sandy  Hook.  After  getting  his  ship  safely 
past  the  lightship  out  into  the  fairway  of  the  sea,  Captain  Oldmixon 
began  straining  his  eyes  and  sounding  the  ship's  whistle  for  the  New 
York — the  pilot  boat  then  on  station  duty — but  in  the  thick 
weather  he  could  not  pick  her  up  so  after  a  time  he  resigned  himself 
to  an  involuntary  trip  to  Europe,  and  Captain  Mills  laid  his  course 
for  England.  A  few  miles  further  out,  however,  during  one  of  the 
brief  lulls  in  the  storm,  Captain  Oldmixon  sighted  the  New  Jersey, 
a  faint  blur  in  the  storm  about  half  a  mile  to  windward,  which,  un- 
known to  him,  was  aiding  the  New  York  on  station  duty  on  account 
of  the  severity  of  the  storm.  Although  the  storm  was  still  raging 
with  unabated  fury  he  ordered  the  Philadelphia  hove  to  and  signalled 
the  New  Jersey  to  take  him  off,  much  against  the  wishes  and  advice 
of  Captain  Mills,  who  told  him  it  was  suicidal  to  try  it  in  such  a 
storm.  It  proved  to  be  quite  a  difficult  matter  for  the  New  Jersey  to 
maneuver  into  the  proper  position  to  effect  the  transfer  but  after 
a  time  the  yawl  put  off  from  the  pilot  boat  and  safely  reached  the 
steamer's  side.  Donning  a  life  preserver  and  fastening  a  quarter- 
mile  heaving  line  about  his  waist  at  the  earnest  request  of  Captain 
Mills,  Captain  Oldmixon  climbed  over  the  ship's  side  into  the  bob- 
bing yawl  and  started  for  the  New  Jersey.  After  a  half  hour's 
nerve-straining  battle  with  the  waves  the  yawl's  crew  brought  her, 
ice-covered  and  half-filled  with  water,  safely  under  the  New  Jersey's 
lee.  With  a  parting  blast  from  the  whistles  of  the  two  vessels,  and  a 
hearty  hand-clasp  from  his  shipmates  aboard  the  New  Jersey,  an- 
other one  of  the  many  thrilling  incidents  in  the  life  of  a  pilot  was 
closed. 


fffl 


70  — 


^3 

.     |     , 

O 

^ 

•^ 

^■H 

(*»** 

1-^ 

£ 

C 

w- 

h— 

^ 

w»» 

c 

H 

> 

s 

H 

(?H- 

«> 

pa 

— 

C5 

n 

s 

re 

fto 

> 

a 

w 

^* . 

s 

w 

is 

w 

-«" 

* 

© 

h-1 

§ 

c 

a 

^ 

><; 

<-1- 

1^* 

a 

~i 

PILOTS  AS  COAST  POLICE 

THE  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  became  popularly  known  as  the  "coast 
police"  through  their  efficient  work  in  rescuing  the  crews  of 
small  craft  and  scows  that  had  drifted  out  to  sea.  Just  how 
many  lives  were  saved  in  this  way  by  the  sturdy  harbor  mariners 
must  be  guessed  at,  for  no  complete  record  has  ever  been  kept  of 
the  rescues.  The  items  gathered  and  at  hand  are  so  numerous, 
however,  that  it  would  require  many  pages  to  chronicle  them  all  in 
this  brief  history  of  the  New  York  Harbor  pilots. 

A  notable  instance  of  this  sort  was  the  rescue  of  the  crew  of 
the  little  Virginia  sloop  Fawn,  which  foundered  off  Sandy  Hook 
lightvessel  on  July  15,  1897,  during  a  heavy  storm.  The  crew  of 
the  sloop  had  been  in  sore  straits  until  rescued  by  the  men  of  the 
pilot  boat  Alexander  M.  Lawrence,  on  board  of  which  was  Pilot 
Connor,  who  brought  word  of  the  rescue  to  New  York.  The  Law- 
rence had  been  on  station  duty  off  the  lightvessel  when  those  on 
board  sighted  the  Fawn,  shortly  after  darkness  had  fallen.  The 
weather  was  what  sailormen  call  "dirty,"  with  heavy  squalls  of  wind 
and  rain  and  a  great  sea  running.  Seeing  that  the  sloop  was  in  a 
bad  way,  the  Lawrence  ran  up  within  hailing  distance  and  found 
that  the  Fawn  was  leaking  badly  and  that  the  crew  stood  in  need  of 
instant  assistance.  The  pilot  boat  put  out  a  yawl  and  ran  a  line  to 
the  sloop  and  then,  falling  away  when  the  line  had  been  made  fast, 
started  into  the  harbor  with  the  Fawn  in  tow.  The  Lawrence  had 
not  gone  far,  however,  before  a  cry  came  from  the  sloop  that  those 
on  board  believed  their  little  craft  to  be  sinking.  The  pilot  boat 
was  brought  into  the  wind,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  line  parted. 
The  fact  that  the  pilot  boat's  yawl  had  been  kept  ready  for  instant 
lowering  made  it  possible  for  two  of  the  brave  men  from  the  Lawrence 
to  get  into  it  and  pull  away  to  the  rescue  of  those  on  the  Fawn  with- 
out loss  of  time.  Quick  as  were  those  from  the  Lawrence,  the  Fawn 
sunk  before  the  yawl  could  reach  her.  It  was  hard  going  for  the  tiny 
rescue  boat,  for  the  tremendous  seas  all  but  swamped  the  frail 
cockleshell.  There  were  three  in  the  Fawn's  crew,  including  the 
captain.  The  trio  were  taken  out  of  the  water  just  in  time  and  then, 
when  the  yawl's  lantern  was  knocked  over  as  one  of  the  rescued  was 
being  pulled  into  the  boat,  those  on  the  Lawrence  thought  that  the 
yawl  had  swamped  and  promptly  a  second  yawl  was  sent  out  from 
the  pilot  boat,  after  the  first.  For  nearly  an  hour  the  second  rescue 
boat  cruised  about  in  the  dark  and  the  gale  until  those  in  her  heard 
a  faint  call  from  the  first  yawl  and  finally  all  hands  were  safely 
transferred  to  the  deck  of  the  Lawrence. 

—  72  — 


\  / 


T7 


T7 


iff 


EEl 


\  / 


/  ■, 


T7 


£\ 


\f 


i  ., 


XJ 


./ ., 


■■  / 


/     s 


/  . 


YTtT'tT 


£\ 


As  illustrative  of  the  unselfishness  of  the  pilot  service  the  inci- 
dent of  February  5,  1903,  when  a  tank  steamer  got  into  trouble  out- 
side the  Hook,  through  a  derangement  of  her  machinery,  may  be 
included  in  this  narrative.  A  tugboat  was  dickering  with  a  barken- 
tine  for  a  tow  from  the  lightship  to  an  anchorage  within  the  harbor 
when  the  steam  pilot  boat  New  Jersey  megaphoned  to  the  tugboat 
captain  that  a  tanker  was  outside  waiting  for  a  tow  and  showing 
signals  that  she  was  not  under  control.  To  tow  such  a  steamer  in 
port  might  mean,  especially  to  the  towing  concern  in  question,  heav}r 
salvage  as  well  as  big  towing  charges.  The  tug's  captain  promptly 
abandoned  the  barkentine  for  the  more  remunerative  "prize"  but 
was  dismayed,  upon  reaching  the  disabled  tanker  outside  Sandy 
Hook,  to  find  that  the  steam  pilot  boat  New  York  had  passed  a  line 
to  the  oil-carrier  and  was  towing  her  into  the  Hook.  In  answer  to 
the  tug  captain's  rather  forcibly  expressed  objection  to  the  pilot 
boat  taking  the  tow,  the  pilots  shouted  back  that  the  steamer  had 
been  found  in  distress  and  perish  the  thought  that  a  Sandy  Hook 
pilot  should  ignore  that  signal.  "And  we're  not  asking  any  pay 
for  it,  either!"  came  the  semi-apologetic  shout  from  the  New  York. 

Similarly  was  the  case,  although  somewhat  sadder  from  the  fact 
that  a  man  had  met  with  grievous  injury  on  board  the  ship  in  dis- 
tress, of  the  four-master  Margaret,  bound  from  Norfolk  to  Boston 
with  a  cargo  of  coal,  handled  by  Pilot  R.  J.  Waugh,  from  the  steam 
pilot  boat  Sandy  Hook.  Mr.  Waugh  noticed  a  schooner  at  anchor 
outside  Sandy  Hook  and,  thinking  she  desired  a  pilot,  went  out  to 
her  in  a  yawl  from  the  Sandy  Hook.  Instead,  he  found  that  the 
master  of  the  schooner  was  hesitating  at  paying  a  very  heavy  tow- 
ing charge  into  New  York  or  a  proportionately  good  price  for 
having  one  of  his  men  transfered  to  a  hospital  at  Staten  Island  on 
a  tug  boat,  the  man  having  had  his  arm  torn  off  in  an  accident  with 
the  donkey  engine  on  board  the  schooner.  With  the  pilots  there 
could  be  no  question  as  to  what  should  be  done  so  Pilot  Waugh 
took  the  injured  man  in  the  yawl,  transferred  him  as  quickly  as 
possible  to  the  Sandy  Hook,  left  an  emergency  yawl  at  the  lightship 
until  he  could  steam  with  all  haste  to  the  Narrows  with  the  Sandy 
Hook  and  have  the  injured  sailor  put  ashore  and  sent  to  a  Staten 
Island  hospital.  And  it  is  needless  to  say  there  was  no  question  of 
transfer  charge  or  anything  else  of  the  sort  figuring  in  the  trans- 
action. 

On  still  another  occasion  a  woman  who  had  been  misdirected  by 
a  New  York  taxicab  driver  and  taken  to  the  wrong  pier  where  she 
boarded  the  steamer  Stockholm,  bound  for  Sweden,  instead  of  the 


—  7.*5 


^ 


\$\ 


\7 


Y7 


ww'B"^ 


F5T 


w 


Y7 


^ 


United  States,  which  was   bound  for   Denmark,   was   taken   off  the 
Stockholm  when  the  pilot  left  that  ship  off  Sandy  Hook,  transferred 
to  the  steam  pilot  boat  where  she  was  kept  until  the  outgoing  United 
States  should  come  up,  where  she  was  to  be  placed  on  board  with 
her  sister  and  little  baby,  who  were  going  abroad  with  her.     When 
the  United  States  came  out  of  the  .Lower  Bay  she  was  halted  by  the 
pilot  boat  and  preparations  were  made  to  place  the  woman  on  ^cfkf d  ;y* 
of  her  when  it  was  found  that  the-  si4ter  and  baby  had  not,  finally ,%j-i 
taken  that  steamer  because  of  the  absence  of  the  member  of.the*-^t 
party  who  had  gone  to  the  wrong  ship.     So  the  woman  was  again*  1'." 
placed  on  the  pilot  boat  and  brought  to  Staten  Island  that  right^ 
She  had  no  money  and  was  a  stranger  in  New  York,  so  one  o££tKe  .^ 
pilots  took  her  to  his  home  where  she  was  cared  for  until  she  could' : 
communicate  with  her  sister.     In  the  meantime  the  pilots  had  Triader  \. 
up  a  small  purse  for  the  luckless  lady  and  she  was  finally  seft  ,on„v. 
her  way  rejoicing.  ..g 


^        ^ 


74  — 


^ 


ft-  g 

o* .     *- 


> 

C 

c 


fc  n 


«i 


re 

re 

1 

«5 


H 

XS1 


<BOAR<DI(NG  THE  LEVIATHANS 

WITH  the  mammoth  Leviathan,  Berengaria,  Olympic,  Aqui- 
tania,  Mauretania,  Rotterdam,  Paris,  Adriatic  and  the  com- 
ing Majestic  matters  of  small  and  unusual  interest  these 
days  of  gigantic  undertakings,  it  is  amusing  to  turn  back  the 
pages  of  modern  marine  history  and  to  peruse  what  was  written, 
a  scarce  twenty  years  ago,  about  the  immense  size  of  what 
are  now  considered  but  comparatively  large  steamships.  "Hard 
to  Board  Ships"  and  "Pilots  Find  It  'More  and  More  Dangerous 
to  Reach  Liners"  are  two  headings  over  an  article  in  the 
St.  Louis  Republic,  in  October,  1901,  which  says  that  "the  im- 
mense size  of  the  new  ocean  giant,  the  Celtic,  has  raised  a  serious 
question  among  pilots  and  steamship  men  generally."  The  article 
goes  on  to  relate  how  the  new  Celtic  is  nine  stories  in  height, 
five  of  which  are  above  the  water  line  and  asks :  "What  interests  the 
pilots  is,  How  can  they  get  up  the  side  of  this  giant,  without  the 
expenditure  of  enough  energy  to  run  a  small  sawmill  for  several 
minutes?"  The  climb  is  a  hard  one,  says  the  St.  Louis  Republic's 
correspondent.  Imagine  scaling  the  bare  side  of  a  five-story  build- 
ing on  a  napping,  wriggling  ladder  of  rope.  It  requires  skill  and 
strength,  just  how  much  of  the  latter  is  shown  by  the  fact  that, 
within  a  comparatively  short  time,  two  pilots  have  fallen  dead  of 
heart  disease  on  the  deck  after  making  the  climb.  These  deaths  did 
not,  of  course,  occur  on  the  Celtic,  the  correspondent  hastens  to 
explain,  saying  there  are  other  ships  up  whose  "towering  sides"  it 
is  an  awful  job  to  climb.  Among  these  he  named  the  Oceanic, 
Deutschland,  Campania,  Lucania  and  Wilhelm  der  Grosse.  None 
of  them,  he  points  out,  is  as  large  as  the  Celtic,  yet  each  was  con- 
sidered a  giantess  of  the  sea.  "It  is  not  easy  to  climb  a  short  dis- 
tance on  one  of  these  rope  ladders"  he  continues.  "The  ships  do  not 
stand  still  like  a  horse.  They  pitch  and  roll.  Pitch  and  roll  number 
one  sends  the  pilot  swinging  far  off  the  side  of  the  ship  like  a  pendu- 
lum. Pitch  and  roll  number  two  brings  him  back  quickly  and,  slap ! 
he  goes  against  the  iron  plates  of  the  ship.  As  most  pilots  are 
elderly  men  and  inclined  to  fleshiness,  the  ascent  of  a  big  ship  is  not 
viewed  with  unmixed  delight  by  them."  In  New  York  Harbor  Alfred 
Buadier  and  John  Canvin,  pilots,  paid  with  their  lives  for  boarding 
big  ships.  In  each  case  they  had  dropped  dead  almost  on  the  in- 
stant that  they  reached  the  deck  .  Baudier  had  his  hand  outstretched 
to  grasp  that  of  the  ship's  captain,  when  he  fell.  Both  had  been 
suffering  from  heart  disease  and  the  violent  exercise  of  climbing 
killed  them.  The  time  since  then  has  seen  great  changes  in  the  prob- 
lems confronting  pilots.  Ships  go  out  now  with  drafts  that  far  ex- 
ceed anything  that  had  ever  been  thought  possible.     In  1899,  when 

—  76  — 


L 

w 

,    , 

/  \ 

, 

.'  ■ 
VJ 

^-e-e- 

"vv* 

"0" 

V7 

in 

V7 

tf 

•(  /■  ■(  ^  r 

ir^<& 

|V7 

\  / 

VV 

there  was  pronounced  agitation  looking  to  the  widening  of  the  main 
ship  channel  at  New  York  to  2000  and  its  deepening  to  35  feet,  well- 
informed  shipping  men  said  that  there  was  no  doubt  that,  in  time, 
ships  would  draw  from  28  to  29  feet  regularly  and  that  some  few 
might  even  draw  thirty  feet.  This  was  considered  a  daring  pro 
phecy  but,  in  the  year  just  ended,  a  maximum  draft  of  42  feet 
6  inches  was  recorded  in  the  Port  of  New  York. 

One  wonders,  when  reading  the  foregoing  effusion  of  twenty  years 
ago,  what  the  feelings  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  must  have  been 
with  the  coming  of  the  really  big  ships,  with  their  sides  half  again 
as  high  as  the  puny  sides  of  the.  Deutschland,  Campania,  Lucania, 
etc.,  and  with  ships  drawing,  not  a  measly  thirty-two  and  a  half  feet 
bnt  from  35  to  42  feet  of  water? 


T7 


M 


77 


PILOT  BOARDING  A  STEAMSHIP 

Commanders  of  some  of  tJie  larger  modern  steamships  have  provided  safety  belts  for 

the   pilots'   use    in    rough    weather 


gRATUITOUS  SALVAGE  WORK 

INSTANCES  where  owners  were  saved  thousands  of  dollars  in 
damage  by  the  quick  and  efficient  work  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots 

and,  perhaps,  the  total  loss  of  their  ships,  are  recorded  in  the 
New  York's  log.  The  first  on  February  2,  1903,  when  the  Dutch 
tank  steamer  New  York,  inward  bound  anchored  outside  the  bar  at 
Sandy  Hook  and  communicated  with  the  pilot  steamer  New  York, 
requesting  to  be  assisted  by  the  pilot  boat  to  a  safe  anchorage,  stat- 
ing that  the  tanker's  steering  gear  was  disabled  and  that  the  steam- 
ship could  not,  therefore,  be  properly  and  safely  steered.  The  New 
York  thereupon  took  the  tanker  in  tow  and  brought  her  into  the 
Narrows.  The  owners  sent  the  Pilots  Benevolent  Fund  a  check 
for  one  hundred  dollars  in  recognition  of  the  service  the  pilots  had 
rendered  their  vessel.  A  similar  action  on  the  part  of  the  owners  of 
the  ship  in  distress,  but  where  the  services  rendered  were  far  more 
vital  and  strenuous  because  the  vessel  calling  for  assistance  had 
gone  ashore  in  a  dense  fog  was  that  of  the  owners  of  the  American 
ship  Susquehanna.  This  ship,  in  tow  of  a  tugboat,  had  grounded  on 
the  Sandy  Hook  Bar  in  a  dense  fog.  The  New  York  put  a  pilot  on 
board  and  then  proceeded  to  float  the  Susquehanna. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  November  13,  1904,  at  the  height  of  a 
severe  gale  of  wind  from  the  north  northeast,  the  pilot  boat  Hermit 
No.  8  fell  in  with  the  disabled  motor  boat  Mildred,  drifting  to  sea 
with  five  men  on  board.  The  Hermit  sent  her  yawl  over  the  side, 
rescued  the  Mildred's  complement  and  then  towed  the  motor  boat  to 
Princess  Bay.  That  the  rescue  was  a  difficult  one  is  attested  by  the 
laconic  entry  in  the  Hermit's  log  that  the  pilot  boat,  in  making  the 
rescue  lost  her  jib  and  split  her  foresail. 

The  vivid  story  of  a  collision  in  which  one  vessel  wras  ultimately 
sunk  and  her  captain  and  mate's  brave  attempt  to  stand  by  their 
doomed  ship  is  covered  by  just  a  dozen  written  lines  in  the  log  of  the 
New  York  under  the  date  of  December  18,  1908.  "On  December  18, 
at  about  4  P.  M.  after  boarding  the  S.  S.  Esperanza,  about  a 
quarter  mile  south  by  east  of  Gedney's  Channel  buoys,"  says  the 
entry,  "we  sighted  the  S.  S.  Catalone,  sounding  alarm  signals.  Spoke 
the  steamer  and  sent  our  yawl  and  took  aboard  twTenty-eight  of  the 
crew  of  the  steamship  Dageston,  with  which  the  Catalone  had  been 
in  collision.  At  7  P.  M.  we  put  the  captain  and  mate  and  five  men 
aboard  the  Dageston  but  at  7 :50  sent  our  yawl  for  the  five  men 
again,  the  Captain  and  mate  remaining  aboard.  We  sent  yawl  over 
to  Dageston  at  8:20  and  8:50  suggesting  we  tow  the  steamer  but 
the  yawl  returned  each  time  with  the  captain's  refusal.  We  stood 
by  until  10:05  P.   M.  when   the   captain   signalled  us  his   ship  was 

—  79  — 


V7 


t7 


t7 


_AA_  ^AA_  ^, 


w 


V7 


Z2l 


T7 


row 


V7 


^ 

w 

i$ 

i$ 

17 

XJ 


sinking.  We  took  him  and  the  mate  off,  the  last  men  to  leave  the 
sinking  ship." 

That  the  experienced  Sandy  Hook  pilots  do  not  always  give  of 
their  expert  knowledge  solely  to  large  sailing  and  steam  vessels 
is  shown  by  the  entry  in  the  New  York's  log  of  April  21,  1911. 
The  New  York  that  morning  sighted  a  sloop  off  the  whistling  buoy, 
flying  distress  signals.  Frank  Cramer,  a  pilot,  went  aboard  the 
sloop  at  9:15  A.  M.,  much  in  the  same  manner  as  he  might  have 
gone  over  to  the  Cunarder  Mauretania,  to  assist  the  sloop  in  mak- 
ing a  safe  harbor,  her  power  having  gone  awry.  The  wind  was 
blowing  a  whole  gale  from  the  north-east  with  an  attendant  strong 
south-west  current.  The  New  York  left  the  sloop  in  order  to  take 
a  pilot  off  an  outward-bound  steamer  and,  while  the  New  York  was 
on  that  duty,  the  sloop,  notwithstanding  Pilot  Cramer's  expertness 
as  a  sailor,  carried  away  her  mainsail  and  was  fast  being  driven 
by  the  gale  to  the  Sandy  Hook  beach,  both  her  anchors  having  gone 
by  the  board.  The  New  York  hurried  over  to  the  sloop  as  soon 
as  she  could  and  succeeded  in  taking  off  Cramer  and  the  two  men 
who  had  been  on  the  sloop  when  she  got  into  difficulties.  The  sloop 
had  to  be  abandoned. 

Saving  the  lives  of  the  professional  life-safers  was  still  another 
task,  seemingly,  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots.  The 
same  day  that  the  New  York  rescued  the  two  men  from  the  sloop 
which  Pilot  Cramer  tried  to  bring  into  the  harbor,  the  big  pilot 
boat  sighted  a  Sandy  Hook  Life-savers'  dory  outside  the  Hook, 
three  miles  from  the  Scotland  Lightship.  The  dory  had  saved  a  man 
off  a  scow  which  had  gone  adrift  from  her  towing  convoy  and  had, 
in  turn,  suffered  a  breakdown  of  her  motor  auxiliary.  She  was  drift- 
ing and  requested  the  New  York  to  tow  her  into  the  harbor. 

Innumerable  instances  of  similar  rescues  are  recorded  on  behalf 
of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots,  besides  many  other  instances  where  the 
presence  of  the  valiant  sea  guides  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  has 
resulted  beneficently  for  either  men  or  ships.  Helpful  always,  re- 
gardless of  "what  there  may  be  in  it"  in  the  way  of  salvage,  which 
is  ever  an  important  consideration  on  the  part  of  many  navigators 
when  giving  a  helping  hand  in  the  way  of  a  towing  line  to  a  ship 
needing  assistance,  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  have,  time  and  again, 
been  the  guardian  angels  of  New  York  Harbor.  Their  mobility, 
especially,  has  been  of  value  to  those  in  need  of  succor,  for  the  pilot 
boats  have  moved  quickly  to  where  they  were  needed  and  they  were 
always  within  call  of  those  whose  mishaps  occurred  close  to  the 
harbor  entrance. 


80  — 


Xj 


\kW\ 


JDl, 


\  I 


/_.\ 


W 


\  I 


^^^"6-6"  ^  xfxJ^-e-xJx^x^ 


1 

\J 

VJ 

w 

It  might  be  remarked  here  that  so  great  had  been  the  loss  of 
life  among  the  pilots  during  the  years  prior  to  1897,  especially  dur- 
ing the  blizzard,  that  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook 
Pilots  Benevolent  Association,  of  which  Allan  Beebe  was  and  still  is 
the  secretary,  found  itself  unable  to  meet  the  demands  upon  its 
treasury  for  burial  benefits.  It  was  this  emergency  that  impelled  the 
late  James  Gordon  Bennett  to  arrange  for  a  benefit  performance  at 
the  old  Herald  Square  Theatre  so  as  to  replenish  the  exhausted 
treasury  of  the  Association. 


T7 


-e- 


—  81  — 


FRANK    P.    VAN    PELT 


President  of  the  New   York  Sandy  Hook  Pilots'  Association  and  chairman  of   the 
joint  executive  committee  of  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Associations 


UNITING  THE  PILOT  SERVICES 

WHERE,  years  EtgOj  as  has  been  explained,  it  was  a  practically 
free-for-all  race  between  more  than  two  dozen  pilot  boats  for 
incoming  ships,  the  systematizing  of  pilotage  brought  about 
a  great  and  welcome  change.  Without  a  "station  boat"  close  to  the 
lightship  at  the  entrance  to  the  harbor  it  was  often  impossible  to 
take  off  the  pilot  of  an  outgoing  ship  and  it  was,  therefore,  occasion 
for  delay  on  the  part  of  the  ship  while  the  transfer  yawl  could  be 
located  or  occasion  for  a  transatlantic  trip  for  the  luckless  pilot. 
With  the  reorganization  of  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  pilots, 
with  sail  pilot  boats  still  in  active  service,  a  system  of  station  boats 
was  inaugurated  whereby  each  individual  boat  was  to  do  a  certain 
amount  of  duty  as  "station  boat."  A  heavy  penalty  was  prescribed 
for  an  infraction  of  the  rules  regarding  this  and  there  was  a  penalty 
inflicted  upon  the  pilots  who  did  not  report  to  the  Association  sec- 
retary all  ships  piloted  by  them  during  the  previous  forty-eight 
hours  of  duty.  The  regulations  called  for  a  day  signal  on  the 
"station  boat"  of  the  jack  at  the  foremast  head  and  a  night  signal 
of  a  light  on  the  jib-boom.  The  boat  on  station  duty  was  com- 
pelled to  carry,  in  a  conspicuous  place,  from  sunset  to  sunrise,  a 
bright  red  under  a  white  signal  light  and  to  remain  on  station  duty 
until  relieved.  In  this  way  pilots  on  vessels  outbound  were  readily 
taken  off  the  ships  and  transferred  to  the  station  boat,  except  in 
isolated  instances  where  the  weather  was  so  rough  that  no  transfer 
boat  could  have  lived  in  the  gale  and  the  pilot  was  carried  overseas 
as  the  guest  of  the  ship  which  he  had  intended  seeing  safely  on  her 
way  merely  as  far  as  the  lightship.  The  last  of  the  old-time  pilot 
boats  under  sail  to  do  station  duty  was  the  Alexander  M.  Lawrence 
Number  4,  which  was  on  duty  when  the  new  steam  pilot  boat  New 
York  went  into  commission.  When  the  curtain  was  rung  down  on 
the  old  sail  pilot  boats  there  were  eight  New  Jersey  boats  and 
twenty-two  New  York  boats  still  in  service.  On  November  30,  1895, 
there  were  166  pilots  on  duty  on  twenty-nine  sail  pilot  boats,  cov- 
ering the  seas  from  NewT  York  Harbor  as  far  as  Cape  Sable  to  the 
eastward  and  as  far  south  as  the  Virginia  Capes  to  board  incom- 
ing ships.  By  June  21,  1896,  twenty-four  sail  boats  had  been  with- 
drawn, five  of  the  old  boats  being  retained  to  serve  as  emergency 
pilot  boats  or  as  auxiliaries  to  cruise  around  the  lower  Jersey  shore. 
That  was  during  the  days  that  the  chartered  steamers  Walter  Adams 
and  Alaska  were  in  service,  for  the  New  York  did  not  take  up  her 
station  alongside  the  Ambrose  Channel  lightship  until  July  1,  1897. 
The  five  boats  that  were  retained  temporarily  were  the  H.  Oelrichs, 
A.  Snow,  C.  H.  Colt,  E.  F.  Williams  and  Alexander  M.  Lawrence, 

—  83  — 


V7 


v7 


V7 


Y7 


r/ 

W 

VJ 

/Z\ 


\J 


R5R^1 


the  Colt  and  Snow  being  sunk  a  few  years  later  while  still  doing 
auxiliary  duty  as  pilot  craft. 

Up  to  1895,  when  the  business  of  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey 
pilots  was  united  into  one  organization,  the  records  available  show 
a  total  loss  of  thirty-four  pilot  boats  and  the  violent  deaths  of 
fifty-one  pilots,  besides  a  large  number  of  apprentices  and  members 
of  pilot  boat  crews,  the  injuries  to  a  large  number  of  pilots  and 
others  in  the  pilot  service  and  the  temporary  disablement,  through 
accidents  at  sea,  of  a  very  large  number  of  the  pilot  craft  besides 
those  that  were  entirely  lost. 

There  is  a  charm  in  the  pilot's  life  and  the  pay  in  the  service  is 
good,  but  young  men  looking  for  a  safe  and  soft  future  had  better 
steer  clear  of  the  Pilots'  Association.     There  are  now  about  seventy 
on  the  waiting  list.     They  are  fine,  sturdy  young  Americans,  who 
know  the  test  of  a  pilot  and  are  not  afraid  to  go  through  the  rigor- 
ous training  period.     Today  they  are  working  in  shops,  offices  and 
on  vessels  at  sea,  waiting  to  be  called.     When  the  pilots'  committee 
has  decided   that  a  young  man  possesses   the  moral,  physical   and 
personal  qualifications  that  will  make  him  a   good  member  of  the 
Association  and  a  good  man  to  stick  by,  he  is  put  in  the  boats. 
He  starts   as  apprentice  pilot,  working  twenty-four   hours   a  day, 
getting  one  day  off  on  shore  every  two  or  three  weeks  and  being 
paid  twenty-five  dollars  a  month.     The  apprentices  form  the  crews  of 
the  pilot  boats.     Every  time  a  ship  comes  along  they  row  the  pilot 
over  to  her  side.     The  yawl  is  put  into  the  water  some  hundred  times 
a  day.     Mostly  it  is  a  row  of  only  fifty  yards — sometimes  'they  are 
forced  to  chase  a  ship  a  mile — whether  it  is  9,  A.  M.,  or  blowing  a 
howling  gale,  or  in  a  hurricane  sea  jammed  with  ice  flows.     They 
never  undress.     Just  turn  in  with  all  their  clothes  on,  sleep  a  few 
winks  till  the  next  call,  always  with  the  yawl  handy  right  alongside. 
And  the  call  comes  on  an  average  once  every  hour  during  the  night. 
In  addition   to  this,   the  apprentices   do   all  the  work  of  steering, 
painting  and  cleaning  ship.     The  apprenticeship  lasts  nine  years, 
after  which  they  can  become  pilots;  but  it  is  a  training' that  makes 
men.     The  weaklings  drop  out  and  only  men  who  love  the  hard,  bit- 
ter life  of  the  sea  can  face  the  prospect  of  nine  years'  duty  at  eight 
dollars  a  week.     Picking  up  the  pilot  is   always  a   feature   of  the 
transatlantic  voyage.     Long  before  land  is  sighted  the  first  officer 
of  the  liner  will  hoist  the  S  flag  at  the  foremast  as  a  signal  that  a 
pilot  is  wanted.     At  night  he  will  shoot  a  "Very"  star  skyrocket  to 
call  the  pilot  boat.     Then,  far  down  the  western  horizon,  where  the 
glow  of  Ambrose  Channel  lightvessel  flashes   and   fades   in   the  sky, 

—  81-  — 


w 


h/1 


/  \, 


V7 


•  \ 


\  / 


\  / 


[el 


t7 


tt 


one  sees  the  answering  flare  from  the  pilot  boat.  Soon  the  gray 
yacht  will  glide  alongside,  dropping  a  yawl,  and  the  pilot  will  climb 
the  "monkey  ladder"  over  the  ship's  side,  step  into  the  circle  of 
passengers  gathered  on  deck,  carving  the  city  papers  in  his  great- 
coat pockets  and  there  is  always  a  scramble  for  the  bundle  of  real 
shore  news. 


m  m 


—  85 


5> 


{J 

H 
O 


W 

in 
H 


o 

>1 


I  Si 


«J     in 

<n    <-> 


6V. 


B5 


FROM  SAIL  TO  STEAM 

THE  pilot  service  in  New  York  Harbor  was  revolutionized  when 
the  old  sailing  boats  were  discarded  and  the  modern  steam  pilot 
boat  New  York  was  placed  in  commission.  First,  however,  the 
pilots  used  the  Walter  Adams  and  the  Alaska,  both  of  them  fishing 
boats  with  steam  power,  which  were  chartered  pending  the  construc- 
tion of  the  modern  pilot  boat  New  York  and  her  expected  consort, 
the  New  Jersey.  The  Walter  Adams  had  a  tonnage  of  175  net  and  a 
length  of  133  feet  and  the  Alaska  had  a  net  tonnage  of  121  with  a 
length  of  141  feet.  The  pilots  also  used  the  fishing  steamer  Trenton 
as  an  auxiliary  cruiser.  For  a  time  several  of  the  old-time  sailing 
boats  were  kept  in  the  service  for  emergency  and  cruising  duty  out- 
side Sandy  Hook.  With  the  placing  of  the  New  York  in  commission 
in  1897  the  Adams  and  Alaska  were  returned  to  their  owners  and 
went  back  into  the  fishing  trade.  The  New  York  was  designed  and 
modelled  by  A.  Cary  Smith  for  the  New  York  Sandy  Hook  Pilots' 
Association  and  her  launching  was  a  great  event  in  maritime  history 
on  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  new  steamer  was  sponsored  by  Marie 
Morse,  daughter  of  the  president  of  the  Harlan  &  Hollingsworth 
Company,  that  built  the  boat  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.  Among 
the  large  number  of  those  present  at  the  launching  ceremonies,  on 
March  18,  1897,  was  a  large  delegation  of  the  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  pilots  and  members  of  their  families.  The  New  York  carries 
sixteen  pilots,  besides  a  regular  crew  comprising  a  captain,  three 
mates,  three  engineers,  a  steward,  a  cook,  two  waiters,  four  firemen 
and  six  sailors ;  the  captain,  mates  and  sailors  being  pilot-appren- 
tices. It  might  be  stated  here  that  the  last  three  years  of  the 
apprentice's  services  are  devoted  to  the  duties  of  watch  officer  (cap- 
tains or  mates),  with  the  pay  slightly  raised  from  the  original 
twenty-five  dollars  monthly,  during  these  last  three  years  of  the  men's 
apprenticeship.  The  vessel  is  154  feet  in  length  over  all,  has  a  28- 
foot  beam,  outside  measurements,  and  a  depth  of  20  feet,  with  a 
mean  draft  of  13  feet  when  in  seagoing  trim.  She  is  constructed 
wholly  of  steel  and  fitted  with  engines  of  1000  indicated  horsepower. 
The  New  York  is  a  powerful  vessel,  a  cutter  under  water  and  a  life- 
boat above  water,  as  well  as  being  a  magnificent  steam  yacht  inside. 
She  has  two  working  boats,  or  yawls,  which  lie  on  deck,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  engine-room  skylight,  just  abaft  the  extended  iron  deck- 
house, which  contains  the  hoisting  engines  to  lift  them  clear  over 
the  side  and  place  them  in  the  water,  ready  manned,  in  all  sort  of 
weather. 

As  additional  proof  of  the  great  efficiency  of  the  pilot  service 
today  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  steam  pilot  boats  New  York 
and  Sand}r   Hook  can   put  their  yawls   over  the   side   and  into   the 

—  87  — 


mm 


u 


VJ 


zv 


XJ 


t7 


jz± 


\nl 


XCT 


XJ 


XJ 


^ 


T7 


m 


\J 

\J 

/  \ 

\J 

1  \ 

\J 

1  \ 
VI 

/  \ 
VI 

1  , 

\J 

V7 


water,  ready  manned,  in  exactly  five  seconds,  truly  a  wonderful  ac- 
complishment in  latter-day  life-boat  launching. 

These  derrick  booms,  quite  distinct,  on  the  starboard  and  port 
sides,  are  attached  to  the  mainmast.  There  are  two  other  life-boats, 
hung  on  davits,  one  on  each  side  of  the  funnel.  Five  sails  are  fitted 
— four  boomless  staysails  and  one  jib — not  for  use  as  sails  in  the 
usual  acceptance  of  the  word  but  to  steady  the  New  York  in  the 
many  different  and  ever-changing  circumstances  that  such  a  vessel 
will  encounter  during  her  active  service.  Immediately  forward  of 
the  New  York's  funnel,  in  the  iron  deckhouse,  is  the  "galley"  or 
kitchen.  Then  comes  the  officers''  mess  and,  ahead  of  this,  directly 
beneath  the  pilot  house,  the  captain's  and  mate's  rooms.  These 
quarters,  by 'the  way,  are  not  surpassed  in  comfort  and  complete 
appointment  by  any  officers'  rooms  on  any  ship  of  whatever  kind 
or  size.  On  top  of  the  pilot  house  is  a  search-light,  manipulated 
from  within  the  pilot  house  and  capable  of  being  placed  in  any 
position.  The  after  deckhouse,  also  of  iron,  contains  a  stairway 
leading  down  to  the  two  saloons  and  four  double  berths  for  pilots. 
There  is,  besides,  an  excellent  smoking  room  shelter.  There  is  a 
three-foot  passage  on  the  starboard  side  of  the  New  York,  extend- 
ing the  entire  length  of  the  boat,  making  means  of  communication 
from  the  galley  to  the  saloons,  forward  and  aft,  and  to  the  pilots' 
rooms  easy  in  the  roughest  weather.  These  rooms,  forward  and  aft, 
have  two  berths  in  each.  The  engineers'  rooms  are  forward  of  the 
forward  saloon,  with  quarters  for  the  firemen  adjoining.  The  rest 
of  the  crew  are  berthed  in  the  forecastle.  Luxurious  baths  are  pro- 
vided on  board  the  New  York  and  the  men  have  roomy  lockers  all 
through  the  vessel. 


VJ 

VJ 

—  88  — 


"*     ~ 


55 


^ 


--  to 


e  s     to 


0  iL  ?P 

g 

£?o 

t: 

t*  &  "-^ 

i— < 

"ft--    45 
—    2       © 

b 

h— 

~       <^ 

O 

<2     <-«i 

> 

GO  s    >. 

H 

=5    Gc 

-C  s    «- 

y, 

•    a- 2. 

w 

t^j         r^ 

.»«* 

rs  -*    <?- 

.«•< 

§      S      N«| 

~      5—    *= 

5~  o  5 
1  ^1- 

en 

"^  ^*  S' 

^1 

B-  >--* 

-*     SO 

©  o 

3  .i& 

N    ► 

~.    ^ 

*^5  *~s 

•—  w- 

-»  2 

i=   -* 

~.  3 

"S     © 

>.      <?*» 

-    ►O 

Sr  s 

<:     ^ 


fc. 

5U 

Ci 

t> 

<+-. 

SB 

*e 

k 

t-i 

O 

•«S> 

ft 

- 

^ 

~c: 

o  -a 


N   o 

.     5* 

o 

o 

X 

^     '~    O 

Hi    f-i 

i— i 

<3 

C/J 

H 

Is*    r 

O 
PQ 

£  *j 

H 

«:*>"£ 

O 

i-l 

ti   §     •> 

i— i 

P-, 

C     J-     as 

.&     K^     "^ 

ht  p 

the 
hipi/( 

fen 


THE  SECOND  STEAM  PILOT  'BOAT 

WITH  the  New  .Jersey  (since  sunk)  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  got 
their  second  modern  steam  pilot  boat.  She  went  in  com- 
mission on  November  12,  1902.  The  New  York  and  the 
New  .Jersey  Pilots'  Associations  now  having  united,  the  New  Jersey 
and  her  sister  pilot  boat,  the  New  York,  jointly  took  up  the  task 
of  doing  full  pilot  duty  at  the  lightship  at  the  entrance  to  the 
harbor,  using  several  of  the  old  sailing  pilot  boats  only  for 
emergency.  The  New  Jersey  was  a  staunch  craft — a  credit  to  her 
Tottenville  builders,  A.  C.  Brown  &  Sons.  Her  machinery  was  in- 
stalled by  Alexander  Miller  and  Brother,  Jersey  City.  The  New 
Jersey  was  as  complete  in  her  appointments  as  the  New  York 
and,  in  addition,  was  so  constructed  that  she  could  be  used  as 
an  ice-breaking  ram  during  severe  winter  weather.  She  had  a 
length  of  157  feet  over  all,  a  beam  of  28  feet  and  a  depth  of  18  feet 
6  inches  and  drew  14  feet  of  water.  She  was,  therefore,  just  a  frac- 
tion larger  than  the  New  York,  except  in  the  matter  of  depth. 

It  was  on  July  10,  1914,  in  a  dense  fog,  that  the  steamship 
Manchoneal,  a  rakish  little  fruit  carrier,  rammed  the  New  Jersey 
off  Fairway  whistling  buoy,  at  the  intersection  of  the  old  (Gedney) 
and  the  new  (Ambrose)  channels.  All  hands  on  board  the  New 
Jersey  were  saved  but  the  splendid  pilot  boat  was  doomed  to  end 
her  brief  career  at  the  bottom  of  the  waters  of  the  lower  bay.  She 
sank  almost  immediately  after  being  cut  down  and  those  who  had 
been  on  board — her  full  complement  besides  a  dozen  pilots — had  little 
opportunity  to  save  anything  except  their  own  lives. 

By  a  strange  working  of  Fate,  a  man  who  has  done  a  great  deal, 
not  only  for  the  merchant  marine  of  the  United  States,  but  who  also 
figures  in  history  as  the  father  of  our  first  modern  battleships,  was 
brought  into  the  lives  of  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots  through  the  pur- 
chase, by  the  latter,  of  the  steamer  Sandy  Hook,  to  replace  the 
lost  New  Jersey.  The  Sandy  Hook  was  built  in  1902  at  the  Cres- 
cent Shipyards,  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  by  Lewis  Nixon,  famed  as 
the  designer  and  constructor  of  the  battleship  Oregon  and  other 
fighting  vessels  of  the  American  Navy.  The  Sandy  Hook  was  built 
as  the  Antice,  a  magnificent  steam  yacht,  of  361  gross  tons,  a  length 
of  168  feet  6  inches,  a  beam  of  24  feet  4  inches  and  a  depth  of  12 
feet  6  inches.  She  has  1,000  indicated  horsepower  and  is  in  every 
Avay  a  splendid  vessel.  The  Antice  later  was  renamed  the  Privateer 
and  came  under  the  ownership  of  R.  A.  C.  Smith,  one  time  Dock 
Commissioner  of  the  City  of  New  York,  a  man  who  has  always  had 
the  interests  of  the  Port  of  New  York  at  heart,  and  by  him  was 
used  as  a  private  yacht.     Mr.  Smith,  ever  an  enthusiastic  friend  of 

—  91  — 


_ 

_ 

\& 

tt 

^ 

-e-e- 

r\ 

r\ 

\_/~\ 

- 

- 

r\ 

- 

^1 

ry 

_ 

_ 

\J 

w 

W 

u 

_ 

w 

■_ 

\J\ 

W 

the  Sandy  Hook  pilots,  placed  a  merely  nominal  price  on  the  Priva- 
teer— one  that  hardly  covered  the  cost  of  hull  and  boilers  of  the 
beautiful  craft.  The  Nixon  boat  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
New  York  and  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  Pilots'  Association  soon 
after  the  catastrophe  to  the  New  Jersey  and  was  renamed  Sandy 
Hook.  Her  appointments,  as  may  be  guessed  by  the  former  char- 
acter of  the  newest  acquisition  of  the  pilots'  association,  were 
quite  as  luxurious  as  her  consort,  the  New  York,  for  it  is  conceded 
that  the  great  risks  and  continued  hardships  that  the  Sandy  Hook 
pilots  face  entitle  them  to  every  possible  comfort  during  the  hours 
that  they  can  consider  themselves  at  leisure.  It  is  fitting  that  Lewis 
Nixon,  who  gave  to  his  country  some  of  the  finest  fighting  ships  and 
some  of  the  finest  merchant  ships  through  his  expertness  as  naval 
architect  and  naval  constructor,  should  have  built  the  staunch  boat 
which  is  now  doing  its  share  towards  maintaining  the  safety  of  the 
harbor  for  the  peaceful  shipping  of  the  world,  even  though  he  did 
not,  when  he  built  the  yacht  Anstice,  dream  that  his  product  would 
ultimately  come  into  the  very  serious  and  vital  service  in  which  the 
Sandy  Hook  is  engaged  to-day. 

There  is  a  rattling  good  story  told  in  connection  with  the  build- 
ing of  the  Anstice.  Her  keel  was  laid  down  in  the  Nixon  shipyards 
for  the  purpose  of  supplying  quick  transfer  in  the  most  modern  of 
refrigerating  steamers  for  the  big  hauls  of  red  snapper  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico.  The  Anstice  was,  in  every  way,  a  superior  vessel  in  the 
matter  of  speed  and  staunchness  and,  it  was  believed,  would  be  able 
to  transfer  the  red  snapper  hauls,  from  the  sailing  fishing  schooners 
and  bring  them  to  American  harbors  without  interference  with  the 
operations  of  the  fishing  fleet.  Everything  went  well,  in  theory, 
until  the  Antsice  appeared  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  With  signal  flags 
flying  in  honor  of  her  maiden  voyage,  the  Nixon  boat  proudly 
approached  the  fishing  fleet  and  came  alongside  the  nearest  fishing 
schooner,  whose  holds  were  full  of  freshly-caught  red  snapper. 
Upon  the  Anstice's  captain  telling  the  schooner's  captain  that  he 
had  come  to  take  over  the  hold-full  of  fish  so  as  to  allow  the  schooner 
to  continue  her  fishing  operations  without  going  to  a  harbor  to  dis- 
charge, the  Anstice's  skipper  was  told  he  might  just  as  well  go  back 
to  where  he  came  from — or  to  a  warmer  zone  if  he  preferred.  "The 
crews  of  the  fishing  schooners,"  he  was  told,  "have  decided  that  they 
like  to  get  ashore  just  as  well  as  the  crew  of  the  Anstice  and  they 
propose  to  get  ashore  just  as  soon  and  as  often  as  they  get  their 
holds  filled  with  fish."  So  the  theory  of  transferring  fish  from  the 
fishing  fleet  to  the  shore  in  a  refrigerating  steamer  did  not  work  out 
in  practice  because  of  the  eternal  human  desire  for  an  occasional 
sight,  at  least,  of  home,  sweet,  home. 

—  92  — 


AUXILLIARY  MOTOR  PILOT  BOAT  TRENTON 
Formerly  ihe  fishing  schooner  Kernrcood.     Purchased  for  pilot  service  in  1907 


J.  F.   HOPKINS 

President  of  the  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  Pilots'  Association 


PULLING  TOGETHER 

Bv  J.  Culbeet  Palmes. 

Counsel  for  both   the  New   York  and  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook 
Pilots'  Associations  since  organization  in  1895. 

MUCH  of  the  romance  and  more  of  the  picturesque  associated 
with  the  pilot  service  disappeared  upon  its  reorganization 
and  the  substitution  of  steam  for  sailing  vessels.  Dangers 
and  hazards  aplenty  remain ;  intelligence,  courage  and  resourceful- 
ness are  essential  as  of  yore;  but  many  unnecessary  risks,  much 
useless  hardship  and  constant  delay  and  trouble,  vexatious  and 
burdensome  to  commerce,  have  been  eliminated.  In  1895  combina- 
tion and  efficiency  displaced  competition  and  wasted  energy.  Prior 
to  that  time  all  the  tight  little  schooners,  of  which  there  were  thirty, 
were  antagonists,  and,  as  the  pilot  first  speaking  an  incoming  ship 
was  entitled  to  the  fees,  rivalries  among  the  various  vessels  wrere 
intense  and  the  spirit  of  emulation  as  well  as  the  desire  for  gain 
frequently  took  the  pilot  boats  half  way  across  the  Atlantic  in  their 
eagerness  to  be  the  first  to  tender  service.  While  the  schooners 
were  staunch  and  seaworthy  vessels,  manned  by  stalwart  and  ex- 
perienced crews,  the  hazards  and  hardships  of  the  business  were 
great  and  were  specially  onerous  to  the  pilots  of  advanced  years 
and  superior  experience.  Moreover,  a  great  economic  waste  was  in- 
volved in  the  method  of  carrying  on  the  business  then  in  vogue  as 
the  number  of  pilots  and  the  cost  of  operating  the  competing  vessels 
was  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  total  earnings.  In  addition,  the 
inconvenience  to  the  merchant  marine  was  serious  and  entailed  un- 
necessary expense  upon  the  commerce  of  the  port. 

Improvements  to  the  existing  system  had  long  been  discussed 
by  the  body  of  the  pilots,  but,  owing  to  the  complex  source  of  their 
authority,  some  being  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  New  York  and 
others  to  that  of  New  Jersey,  and  because  of  the  conflict  of  vested 
interests  arising  from  the  undivided  and  fractional  ownership  of  the 
many  vessels,  and  also  because  of  the  different  points  of  view  of  older 
and  younger  pilots,  the  division  of  interests  between  pilots  owning 
all  or  part  of  a  boat  and  the  so-called  journeymen  having  no  pro- 
prietory interests,  the  occasional  feelings  of  embittered  rivalry  be- 
tween the  different  boats'  companies  and  the  suspicion  and  ill-will 
at  that  time  existing  between  the  New  Yorkers  and  the  Jerseymen, 
dissensions  had  gradually  developed  that  proved  almost  insuper- 
able obstacles  to  any  reorganization.  At  length  a  joint  committee, 
representing  pilots  of  both  states,  was  appointed  with  instructions 
to  form  a  working  plan  and,  after  much  discussion  and  the  recon- 
ciliation or  compromising  of  many  conflicting  interests,  the  existing 

—  95  — 


tnxt 


XJ 


^x 


XJ 


XJ 


JI\ 


XJ 


£Z. 


XI 


/Zv 


XX 


T7 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


e 


XJ 


/Z\ 


XJ 


850830 


# 

\J 

u 

W 

system  was  finally  adopted.  The  scheme  involved  the  creation  of 
two  organizations,  one  composed  entirely  of  New  York  and  the 
other  entirely  of  New  Jersey  pilots ;  a  working  agreement  between 
such  organizations  ;  the  purchase  and  retirement  of  the  sailing  ves- 
sels, and  the  construction  and  equipment  of  suitable  steam  vessels 
to  take  their  place.  A  large  amount  of  capital  was  essential  to  the 
success  of  the  enterprise  and  this  was  furnished  by  the  pilots  them- 
selves without  recourse  to  outside  interests.  This  radical  change 
was  brought  about  with  very  little  alteration  in  the  existing  laws, 
either  State  or  Federal,  and  without  interference  with  the  disci- 
plinary control  of  the  Pilot  Commissioners  of  the  two  Common- 
wealths. So  harmoniously  and  equitably  were  the  conflicting  inter- 
ests adjusted  and  so  efficiently  has  the  business  of  the  Associations 
been  conducted  that,  for  twenty-five  years,  there  has  been  no  dis- 
agreement between  the  organizations  or  their  members  which  their 
governing  committees  have  not  been  competent  to  adjust.  Financial 
embarrassments  have  been  avoided,  discipline  has  been  maintained, 
litigation  has  been  eliminated,  justice  has  prevailed,  service  has  been 
vastly  improved,  and  the  successful  operation  of  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  century  has  proved  the  firm  foundation  upon  which  the  organ- 
ization was  erected.  The  welfare  of  the  pilots  themselves  has  been 
increased,  their  Commissioners  have  welcomed  the  Associations  as 
aids,  and  all  the  maritime  interests  of  the  port  are  united  in  ap- 
proval of  the  service,  which  is  now  generally  recognized  as  the  best 
and  most  efficient  in  the  world.  The  beneficial  results  of  compul- 
sory pilotage,  under  government  regulation,  but  allowing  the  free 
play  of  private  initiative,  operation  and  control,  has  been  demon- 
strated and  the  entire  absence  of  complaint  or  criticism  from  any 
source  is  the  highest  evidence  of  the  superior  character  of  the  pres- 
ent pilot  service. 

The  conditions  arising  from  the  war  provided  a  severe  test  of 
the  strength,  solidarity  and  efficiency  of  the  organization.  The  Fed- 
eral Government  took  over  its  control  and  it  became  obligatory  to 
conform  to  many  necessary  but  embarrassing  and  confusing  regula- 
tions. The  expense  of  operation  increased  enormously  with  the  gen- 
eral inflation  of  prices,  while  the  earnings  were  still  conditioned  on 
the  statutory  fees.  Much  confidential  and  unrequited  but  patriotic- 
work  was  done  which  can  never  be  recognized  formally  and,  through 
all,  the  machinery  of  the  organization  and  the  splendid  spirit  of  its 
personnel  remained  unimpaired  and  the  return  from  conditions  of 
war  to  those  of  peace  was  accomplished  without  friction.  How- 
ever, the  end  is  not  yet.  While  much  has  been  accomplished,  much 
remains  to  be  done.     One  or  more  additional  steamers  must  be  con- 


96  — 


rs 

& 

-6- 

-6- 

\  i 

,r\. 

W 

/~\ 


u 


/  \, 


Y7 


-e-e-e-e-e-e- ^ 


J  ., 


\  I 


XJ 


"6- 


structed  when  times  become  auspicious  and  various  betterments  and 
improvements  must  continually  be  provided  in  order  that  the  serv- 
ice may  retain  in  the  future  its  present  pre-eminence  among  the 
pilot  organizations  of  the  country. 


^ 


Y7 


—  97 


«     &, 


=>. 


Q 


o 

H 

1X1 

H 
fc., 

I-1     3   ^ 


#=C       Go 


©^ 


I— I 

O 
H 


«9 


e 

•  2 

■ta 

■♦a 
as 


O     ©} 


^.=*  ^ 


05 

S     O 


Sh 


4)  S-, 


v.    o 


«9 


e 


O 

*^ 


Bh 


a.  s 


THE  PILOTS'  CLUB 

SHORTLY  after  the  free-for-all  system  of  piloting,  which  made 
each  individual  pilot  hoat  the  headquarters  of  a  small  group  of 
pilots  who  were  partners  in  that  particular  boat,  was  changed 
and  the  pilots  organized  into  an  association  under  a  pooling  agree- 
ment, the  152  pilots — 104  New  Yorkers  and  48  New  Jersey  men — in 
the  service  at  the  beginning  of   1896,  inaugurated  the  first  Pilots' 
Club  with  an  active  membership  of  ninety-four.     The  Club  had  rooms 
on  the  fourth  floor  of  24  State  Street.     The  first  president  was  Eben 
Turnure  and  the  vice-president  was  William  V.  Germond;  the  sec- 
retary Thomas  Connors ;  the  treasurer  T.  F.  Murphy  and  the  serg- 
eant-at-arms  Jacob  M.  Heath.     The  first  trustees  were  John  Hobbs, 
M.  Sullivan,  M.  Carr,  T.  Lennan,  James  O'Sullivan,  R.  Bigley,  G. 
Waldie  and  M.  Lyons.     A  few  years  later  the  club  moved  to  the 
building  adjoining  it  to  the  south,  21  State  Street,  and  more  recently 
the  entire  pilot  organization,  Pilot  Commissioners,  New  York  Pilots 
Association,  New  Jersey  Pilots  Association,  the  combined  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  Association,  the  benefit  associa- 
tion of  the  other  organization  and  the  Pilots  Club  moved  to  the  com- 
modious top  floor  of  the  Municipal  Ferry  Building,  known  as  the 
Whitehall   Terminal   of    the   Staten    Island    ferries.      In    their   new 
quarters  the  pilots  have  an  unbroken  view  of  the  Upper  Bay  and  the 
approaches  to  the  North  and  East  Rivers,  a  large  and  comfortable 
club   room,   billiard   room,   executive   committee   room    and   general 
assembly  room.     It  is  there  that  the  historic  library  and  collection 
of  relics  of  the  pilot  service  is  kept  and  it  is  from  this  eyrie  that  the 
pilots   set  forth   on   their   tours   of  duty,   taking   the   ferry   to   St. 
George,  there  to  board  either  the  New  York  or  the  Sandy  Hook  for 
incoming  duty,  or  going  overland  to  the  various  piers  to  board  ships 
outward-bound  and  which  they  are  to  see  safely  past  the  lightship  at 
the   harbor    entrance,    from   which    point    they    are    brought    home- 
again,  via  the  New  York  or  the  Sandy  Hook,  as  the  case  may  be,, 
to  the  St.  George  landing  after  an  absence  from  the  city  of  any- 
where from  one  to  five  days. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Pilots'  Club  are  Joseph  A.  Murphy, 
president;  Leo  Oldmixon,  vice-president;  Edward  Braun,  Jr.,  sec- 
retary, and  Henry  W.  Wood,  treasurer.  The  club  is  entirely  apart 
from  the  other  organizations  of  the  pilots  and  is  purely  a  social 
affair.  They  maintain  a  lunch-room  of  their  own  in  the  club-rooms 
in  the  Municipal  Ferry  Building,  on  the  same  floor  that  houses  the 
other  departments  and  organizations  of  the  pilots.  A  regular  stew- 
ard serves  refreshments  to  the  men  who  are  waiting  a  call  to  a  ship 
or  who  are  waiting  for  their  turn  to  board  the  steam  pilot  boat  and 
take  up  station  duty  at  the  lightship. 

—  99  — 


V7 


EHESJESj 


V7 


Ea 


V7 


Me\ 


A 


T7 


V7 


V7 


V7 


A\ 


T7 


T7 


HS 


A\ 


T7 


A\ 


V7 


ZA 


V7 


Among  the  books  in  the  club's  library  are  some  real  old-timers  in 
the  list  of  magazines  and  contemporaneous  journals,  from  which 
much  of  the  romantic  as  well  as  the  commercial  history  of  the  Port 
of  New  York  may  be  secured.  The  older  pilots  love  to  settle  down 
in  a  corner  of  the  club  room  and  spend  hours  in  reading  about  the 
days  that  were,  that  bring  memories  back  of  events  in  which  many  of 
them  figured  prominently.  Paintings  and  old  prints  adorn  the  walls, 
these  pictures  showing  various  old  ships  and  old  pilot  boats  and,  in 
a  number  of  instances — as  will  be  seen  by  glancing  at  certain  of  the 
illustrations  in  this  volume — depicting  the  painter's  conception  of 
the  valorous  deeds  that  were  done  at  sea  in  the  pilot  service. 


100  — 


^B 

% 

j&^A 

^^BB       ":-                            ':■■  ■W^^'U'i™J<^§»i«l.       ..,, 

t 

■ 

■El  <Qk4l   flfl  Kr 

P      ^ 

- 

¥      •'"   ifc-i  W 

KJ: 

*  A 

PILOT  CLIMBING  ABOARD  THE  SANDY  HOOK  AFTER  BEING  TAKEN 

OFF  AN  OUT-GOING  VESSEL 


COMMISSION  CONTROL 

AS  has  been  said  before  in  this  history,  the  New  Jersey  Pilot 
/-\  Commissioners  were  the  result  of  an  act  passed  by  the  New 
Jersey  Legislature  April  17,  1816,  and  the  New  York  Pilot 
Commissioners  came  into  being  through  an  act  of  the  New  York 
Legislature  passed  seven  years  later.  In  both  instances  the  Pilot 
Commissioners  form  a  supervising  body  over  the  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  pilots,  regulating  the  licensing  of  pilots,  the  work  of 
the  pilot  boats  and  the  fees  for  pilotage. 

Both  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Pilot  Associations  work  in 
harmony  with  these  commissioners.  The  New  Jersey  commissioners, 
of  whom  there  are  six,  are  appointed  by  the  Governor,  each  for  a 
term  of  three  years.  The  New  York  commissioners,  of  whom  there 
are  five,  are  appointed  in  a  different  manner,  although  their  powers 
and  authority  are  on  a  par  with  those  of  New  Jersey.  Their  terms 
are  for  two  years  each  and  three  are  appointed  by  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  the  City  of  New  York  and  the  other  two  by  the  Board 
of  Marine  Insurance  Underwriters.  The  commissioners  of  both 
states  are  men  of  the  highest  standing  in  their  respective  communi- 
ties, who  have  the  welfare  of  the  Port  of  New  York,  both  from  the 
New  York  and  the  New  Jersey  standpoint,  thoroughly  at  heart. 

The  present  New  York  commissioners  are  Marcus  H.  Tracy, 
president ;  Arthur  M.  Smith  and  Joseph  Morrell,  appointed  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  George  L.  Norton  and  Melville  M. 
Crockett,  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Underwriters.  The  present 
New  Jersey  commissioners  are  Benjamin  Van  Note,  president; 
William  Cox,  Alfred  Devlin,  Thomas  Goldingay,  S.  D.  Haley  and 
John  Predmore. 

The  New  York  and  New  Jersey  pilots  each  have  their  own  or- 
ganization, with  their  own  officers.  The  New  Jersey  organization 
has  for  its  President,  J.  F.  Hopkins;  Secretary,  W.  S.  Devereux. 
The  New  York  organization  has  Frank  P.  Van  Pelt  as  President  and 
H.  Arnold  as  Secretary.  These  four  men,  together  with  New  Jersey 
pilots,  G.  Oldmixon  and  J.  E.  McCarthy,  and  New  York  pilots,  R. 
J.  Waugh  and  A.  Anderson,  form  an  Executive  Committee  of  eight 
representing  both  the  New  York  and  the  New  Jersey  pilot  associa- 
tions, with  Captain  Van  Pelt  as  the  chairman  at  present  of  this 
Executive  Committee. 

Much  comment  has  been  raised  at  times  over  the  question  of 
compulsory  pilotage  and  the  question  has  had  opposition  brought 
to  bear  against  it  in  an  effort  to  make  pilotage  a  matter  of  choice 
with  sea  captains.  To  the  uninitiated  it  would  seem,  perhaps,  that 
the  master  of  a  vessel  capable  of  running  his  ship  across  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  between  New  York  and  a  European  port,  for  instance, 

—  102  — 


\/ 


\  / 


\  / 


^ 


m 


\&\ 


to" 


M 


to- 

\J 

I 


\J 


would  not  need  the  assistance  of  a  harbor  pilot  to  bring  his  ship 
safely  past  Sandy  Hook  and  into  the  Narrows.  Many  a  navigator 
gets  his  license  "for  the  Atlantic  and  all  Atlantic  ports"  and  would 
— again  to  the  uninitiated — seem  to  he  covered  for  the  Port  of 
New  York  as  well  as  for  deep  water  out  in  the  Atlantic. 

Conditions  in  a  harbor  continually  change,  however,  and  a 
month's,  even  a  three  weeks'  absence,  makes  a  great  difference  in  the 
channels  at  various  times.  That  is  one  reason  for  there  being  a 
compulsory  pilotage  system  but  still  another  and  a  vastly  more  im- 
portant one  is  that,  should  there  be  no  compulsory  pilotage  there 
would  be  no  inducement  for  pilots  to  spend  their  days  off  Sandy 
Hook  if  their  services  should  be  taken  in  the  case  of  storms,  or 
other  emergency,  when  the  need  of  an  expert  harbor  pilot  becomes 
a  necessity  to  the  navigator  of  a  vessel,  just  as  a  consultation  with 
another  expert  physician  becomes  necessary  to  the  attending  phy- 
sician in  a  grave  emergency. 

Coastwise  shipping  is  not  subject  to  compulsory  pilotage,  for 
trans-ocean  shipping  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  is  heavy  enough 
to  provide  sufficient  revenue  for  the  upkeep  of  an  efficient  pilotage 
force  in  the  biggest  American  port.  In  some  Southern  ports  there 
is  compulsory  pilotage  for  all  shipping,  coastwise  and  other  ship- 
ping, for  the  reason  that,  unless  all  shipping  were  included,  there 
would  not  be  enough  compulsory  pilots  to  provide  the  funds  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  pilots  on  the  job  for  every  emergency.  A  port 
without  compulsory  pilotage  would  be  subject  to  the  whim  of  the 
navigator  of  the  ship  who  might  be  incapable  of  bringing  his  ship 
safely  through  the  harbor  channels  yet  might  believe  that  he  was 
capable,  thereby  causing  accident  and  interruption  to  navigation 
through  his  stubborn  refusal  to  take  on  a  pilot  absolutely  familiar 
with  every  danger  point  in  the  harbor.  It  need  only  be  said  that 
any  New  York  or  Sandy  Hook  pilot  could  bring  a  ship  through 
Sandy  Hook  and  the  Narrows  into  the  Port  of  New  York  even 
though  every  buoy  and  danger  mark  were  removed  from  its  an- 
chorage, something  that  no  other  navigator  could  do,  no  matter 
how  expert  in  handling  his  vessel  on  long  voyages. 

It  was  Michael  Murphy,  Sandy  Hook  pilot,  who  was  sent  to 
England  to  bring  back  the  then  seventh  wonder  of  the  world,  the 
famous  Great  Eastern — not  to  pilot  her  across  the  ocean  but  to 
study  the  greatest  ship  of  her  day  during  the  transatlantic  voyage 
and  be  prepared  to  guide  her  safely  past  Sandy  Hook  and  through 
the  Narrows  upon  her  arrival  here  on  her  maiden  trip  from  England. 

It  was  an  American  Admiral  who  praised,  without  stint,  the 
admirable  handling   of   the   great   convoys   of   troop    and   merchant* 

—  103  — 


XJ 


Q^>*^ 


XJ 


XJ 


^x 


XT 


zx 


XJ 


xfx^xfxxf 


£\ 


XJ 


XT 


if 

t  \ 

w 

\J 

XI 

JZ\ 


XJ 


XJ 


M 


\J 

\J 

ships — but  especially  the  ships  on  which  our  boys  went  overseas 
to  help  put  a  quietus  on  the  World  War — by  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots. 
It  was  during  this  war-time  activity  that  the  Sandy  Hook  pilots, 
in  a  period  of  nineteen  months,  handled  22,000  vessels  without  a 
single  accident  or  an  error  of  judgment  and  during  one  single  Sun- 
day, in  three  and  one-half  hours,  sixty-nine  ships  were  safely  handled 
by  the  pilots  without  anything  happening  to  mar  their  safe  transit 
through  the  unmarked  channels  of  the  Port  of  New  York. 

Before  the  World  War  the  movement  of  shipping  in  New  York 
harbor  was  largely  foreign,  American  ships  being,  for  the  most  part, 
restricted  to  coastwise  vessels.  During  the  World  War  the  work 
of  piloting  ships,  while  reduced  from  a  merchant  marine  standpoint 
because  of  the  tremendous  losses  in  ships  on  the  high  seas  and 
abroad  through  the  acts  of  the  enemy,  was  vastly  increased  by  the 
great  numbers  of  transports  that  were  continually  being  sent  over- 
seas to  accommodate  the  legions  of  American  fighters  bound  for 
France.  When  the  war  ended  the  amount  of  shipping  of  all  kinds, 
including  the  returning  transports  at  the  beginning  of  the  home- 
ward movement  of  troops,  taxed  the  efforts  of  the  Sandy  Hook  men 
to  the  utmost  and  since  then  the  merchant  marine  fleets,  now  aug- 
mented by  the  thousands  upon  thousands  of  tons  of  American  mer- 
chant shipping  from  every  section  of  the  universe,  has  kept  the 
pilots  busy  as  they  seldom  were  before  in  the  history  of  their  pro- 
fession. 

Had  there  been  no  compulsory  pilotage  in  New  York  harbor 
there  could  not  possibly  have  been  the  same  absence  of  disaster  in 
the  port  during  the  past  two  decades  that  has  marked  local  naviga- 
tion in  that  time.  It  is  much  more  true  to-day  than  it  ever  was 
before  and  those  who  know  the  difficulties  of  navigation  and  who 
do  not  look  at  the  question  without  having  weighed  the  facts  are 
agreed  that  Congress  did  a  wise  thing  when,  under  the  guiding  hand 
of  the  late  Amos  J.  Cummings,  it  refused  to  pass  an  act  repealing 
the  present  compulsory  pilotage  laws. 

There  is  a  good  story  told  of  a  British  tank  steamer  that  was 
ready  to  leave  Baltimore  one  dark  and  dirty  night  when  the  harbor 
pilot  refused  to  take  her  out  before  daylight,  considering  it  a 
needless  risk.  The  tramp  steamer's  captain  refused  to  lose  some 
ten  hours  and  so  started  out  without  a  pilot.  The  steamer  got 
out  and  across  the  Atlantic  without  mishap  and  the  Baltimore  pilot 
was  suspended  because  of  his  refusal  to  take  the  ship  out  of  the 
harbor.  But  after  her  cargo  had  been  discharged  in  London  and 
part  of  a  new  cargo  taken  on  board — enough  to  stiffen  her — the 
tramp  steamer's  engineer  proceeded  to  pump  out  her  ballast  tanks 


101 


^ 

-6- 

W    W 

u 

"u" 

w 

y 

u 

y  ■„  u-'  ■•.  y  >, 

.■'  >  y  ■ 

y 

w 

ir 

ft 

-6- 

^1-6- 

to  see  that  they  were  perfectly  dry.  He  pumped  and  pumped  and 
kept  it  up  for  three  hours,  after  which  he  found  the  tanks  to  be  still 
full.  He  continued  to  pump  all  day  and  all  night  and  still  the  tanks 
remained  full,  notwithstanding  the  continual  flow  of  water  through 
the  pumps.  Then  the  steamer  was  put  in  dry  dock  to  solve  the 
mystery  and  the  discovery  was  made  that  she  had  several  holes  in 
her  bottom  and  had  simply  been  floating  on  her  tank  tops.  The 
captain  of  the  tramp  then  had  a  faint  recollection  that  his  ship  had 
"scratched  gravel"  in  Hampton  Roads  on  the  night  that  he  essayed 
to  take  her  out  without  the  aid  of  an  experienced  harbor  pilot, 
but  he  had  said  nothing  of  it  in  his  log.  The  underwriters  allowed 
that,  instead  of  gravel,  he  must  have  run  his  ship  over  about  three 
acres  of  rock,  missing  disaster  by  probably  the  fraction  of  an  inch 
and  that  it  was  mere  dumb  luck  that  the  tank  tops  held  out  through 
the  transatlantic  passage.  It  is  not  recorded  whether  the  luckless 
Baltimore  pilot  was  finally  exonerated  from  blame  for  his  refusal  to 
take  the  steamer  out  under  the  circumstances. 


K5I 


y~A_ 
T7 


—  105  - 


a 


"■« 


^      ^  -* 

-»  2  §  ? 

•*-    g  ^2    to 

^  ^  cc 


to  tu 


^•~^ 


8>j 


< 
> 

H 
E 
u 


c    „ 
~~1     to 


-2  -= 


o    to 

CO    S 
Q 

QJ       to 
r-Sg    -O 

to 


-^    to 

as  o 


"T3 

to 


S.    Q 


k 

to 

o 


5^3 

+-  ft 


< 

H 
in 


to 

"2  ■*i 

o 

*  i 

rv 
p3        IS 


"2 

to 


S 


Q 

&. 


1 8 

to    « 

cc  g 


to 


5Ji    to 

"a  ^ 

S    to 


PILOTS,  "BOATS,  HARBORS  ANT> 
HIGH  LIGHTS 

By  R.  A.  C.  Smith 

PILOTS,  pilot  boats  and  the  Port  of  New  York  have  been  inter- 
esting  facets   on   the   general   facade   in    my   life   and   as   long 
as  I  am  conscious  and  able  to  get  around  I  shall  be  interested 
in  not  only  the  Port  of  New  York,  but  one  of  the  very  vital  parts 
of  it  which  exists  in  pilots  as  an  institution  and  as  men. 

My  parents  had  sent  me  to  school  in  London,  England,  where  I 
was  supposed  to  learn  all  the  things  one  could  know  about  account- 
ing and  the  business  of  over-seas  development.  The  price  of  enter- 
tainment in  London  in  those  days  was  not  excessively  high  but 
whatever  the  elevation  it  was  beyond  my  particular  purse  and  I  had 
to  provide  my  own  entertainment.  The  fates  led  me  to  the  acquain- 
tance of  an  artist  and  a  studio  where  panoramas  were  painted. 
The  artist  needing  a  boy  about  my  size  allowed  me  to  come  around 
after  school  hours  and  boil  the  glue,  mix  the  color,  wash  the  brushes 
and  turn  the  roll  on  which  the  panorama  was  being  rolled  up  after 
a  section  of  it  had  been  painted.  And  the  picture !  Nothing  will 
ever  eradicate  from  my  memory  that  picture.  It  was  considered  by 
the  artist  his  masterpiece.  He  had  named  it  "The  El  Dorado."  It 
was  the  story  of  a  family  of  the  Old  World  leaving  for  America. 
The  part  of  it  that  lives  most  vividly  in  my  memory  was  the 
steamer  on  which  the  family  had  successfully  crossed  the  Atlantic 
at  the  point  when  it  was  being  hailed  by  a  pilot  boat.  Then  the 
Lower  Bay,  and  as  a  grand  finale  "Castle  Garden"  shown  first 
by  night  and  then  by  day,  and  the  transfer  of  the  fortune  seekers 
from  the  steamer  to  "Castle  Garden"  and  from  there  out  to  the 
conveyances  that  were  to  take  them  to  transportation  for  the 
West  and  South.  The  final  picture  showed  them  in  the  new  country 
prosperous,  happy  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  but  the  picture  of  the 
pilot  boat  and  "Castle  Garden"  were  the  particularly  impressive 
things  to  me.  By  the  time  the  artist  had  reached  "Castle  Garden" 
in  the  creation  of  the  picture,  I  had  become  so  enthusiastic  over  the 
developing  masterpiece  and  had  boiled  the  glue  so  well  and  kept  the 
brushes  so  clean  that  he  allowed  me  "to  get  into  the  picture"  so  to 
speak.  In  making  the  night  effect  around  "Castle  Garden"  it 
was  necessary  to  have  sparkles  on  the  waves  in  the  water,  made  by 
moonlight  reflection  in  nature  and  in  the  panorama  made  by  lights 
behind  slits  in  the  canvas.  I  was  the  author  of  the  slits.  With 
a  sharp  knife  I  was  allowed  to  cut  out  the  spaces  in  the  high  lights 
in  the  waves  of  the  water  by  which  the  effect  was  to  be  produced. 
I  am  not  sure  whether  the  impression  of  this  picture  was  the  inspira- 
tion, but  I  am  sure  it  made  my  determination  to  go  to  New  York. 

—  107  — 


V7 


£XU\ 


XJ 


XJ 


^=1 


V7 


XT 


a 


eg 


XJ 


ezez 


r/ 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


/A 


V7 


XT 


XJ 


ffl 


xx 

XJ 


When  I  came  to  New  York  I  came  on  the  last  of  the  side-wheel 
steamers  from  Havana  and  it  was  called  the  "Morro  Castle,"  then 
owned  by  the  Atlantic  Mail  Steamship  Company,  which  was  then 
passing  out  as  a  power  in  coast  trade  service. 

For  a  long  time  before  we  reached  the  water  adjacent  to  New 
York  I  spent  all  my  time  at  the  forward  rail  looking  for  the  pilot 
boat  with  the  memory  of  my  days  on  the  paint  bridge  and  the  picture 
in  the  artist's  studio  where  the  panorama  had  been  painted.  After 
a  while  it  seemed  to  me  as  though  the  pilot  boat  had  missed  us  or 
that  we  had  missed  New  York  and  we  were  going  to  sail  on  for- 
ever, but  one  pleasant  morning  there  came  rapidly  up  out  of  the 
horizon  on  a  snappy  north-east  blow  pilot  boat  No.  7.  From  the 
time  that  No.  7  came  alongside  until  the  pilot  was  aboard  no  action 
escaped  my  interested  scrutiny.  When  the  pilot  came  aboard  I 
made  it  my  business  to  become  acquainted  with  him  and  we  were 
friends  for  many  years.  It  was  a  good  augury,  because  I  have  been 
friends  for  many  years  with  a  great  many  pilots  and  in  the  days 
when  my  business  took  me  to  Cuba  on  frequent  trips,  I  saw  more 
and  more  of  what  an  important  part  the  pilot  plays  in  the  life  of 
those  that  go  to  sea. 

Those  were  the  days  when  pools  were  made  as  to  whether  the 
number  of  the  pilot  boat  that  reached  us  first  would  be  odd  or  even, 
and  I  have  seen  some  considerable  sums  change  hands. 

It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  state  that  when  Mayor  Gaynor 
appointed  me  to  the  Dock  Department  as  Commissioner,  I  could  not 
refrain  from  smiling  at  the  curious  things  that  fate  does  to  us  and 
of  the  peculiar  coincidences  that  affect  our  lives  and  over  which  we 
seemingly  do  not  have  the  slightest  thing  to  say.  The  first  day  I 
went  to  the  Dock  Department  on  Pier  A  I  looked  out  over  the 
water  across  to  the  Aquarium,  which  still  has  all  of  the  architec- 
tural appearance  it  had  when  it  was  known  as  "Castle  Garden," 
and  let  the  pressing  business  of  the  moment  wait  for  just  a  few 
minutes  while  I  ruminated  on  what  seemed  a  specially  curious  se- 
quence of  periods  having  to  do  with  the  Port  of  New  York  and 
pilots  from  the  day  when  I  put  the  high  lights  on  the  water  of 
the  Harbor  on  the  panorama  canvas  to  the  then  present  time  when 
as  Dock  Commissioner  I  was  to  put  50  or  60  million  dollars  worth 
of  structures  around  the  Harbor  to  bring  it  up  to  some  of  the 
efficiency  required. 


xx 
T7 


108 


^ 

o 

s 

O 

> 

W 

c+» 

C- 

W 

O 
Si 

H 

> 

© 

H 

*^ 

> 

*-• 

<* 

^ 

0 

1— 1 

> 

^ 

Hi 

t% 

^5 

1— 1 

a 

00 

09 

<i 

00 

^ 

0 

(REMINISCENCE  $£ND  COMMENT 

By  Thomas  E.  Rush 

IT  SEEMS  fortuitous  that  my  participation  in  the  activities  of 
the  recent  great  war  should  have  been  in  the  office  of  the  Sur- 
veyor of  Customs  of  the  Port  of  New  York,  a  branch  of  the 
Treasury  Department  of  our  government,  where  I  served  from  Sep- 
tember, 1914,  to  May,  1921  ;  and  while  my  incumbency  of  that  office 
afforded  me  numerous  opportunities  for  observing  the  interesting 
and  dramatic  features  of  the  war  from  a  side  line,  it  also  gave  me 
the  inspiration  to  write  The  Port  of  New  York,  a  book  quoted  today 
in  our  High  Schools  and  Colleges,  and  recognized,  also,  as  an  au- 
thority on  the  Port  by  the  leading  civic  organizations  of  this  city. 
My  parents  were  both  born  in  the  City  of  Galway,  on  Galway 
Bay,  described  as  one  of  the  most  attractive  harbors  on  the  west 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  known  to  all  lovers  of  Celtic  literature  as  the 
"Land  of  the  Fairies,"  and  so  it  isn't  surprising  that  in  this  beau- 
tiful section  we  find  the  Celtic  literateurs,  Lady  Gregory,  Edward 
Synge  and  George  Moore,  seeking  inspiration  for  their  work,  with 
James  Stephens  of  The  Crock  of  Gold  fame  a  short  distance  fur- 
ther down  the  coast.  Some  years  ago  I  made  a  visit  to  the  "De- 
serted City  of  West  Ireland,"  and  had  an  opportunity  of  exploring 
"The  Aran  Isles"  through  the  courtesy  of  the  editor  of  the  Galway 
Times,  whose  brother,  Mr.  William  Garrow  Fisher,  was  for  many 
years  a  reporter  on  the  New  York  World. 

My  own  lines  haven  fallen  in  pleasant  places.  The  divinity  that 
presides  over  the  Port  of  New  York  arranged  my  entree  into  this 
world  in  an  old-fashioned  house  about  two  blocks  from  what  was 
then  known  as  Catherine  Ferry,  located  on  the  East  River,  a  short 
distance  from  Fulton  Street.  So  that  my  acquaintance  with  New 
York  harbor  began  at  a  very  early  age.  I  remember  as  a  very  young 
child  going  down  to  the  old  Market  Street  dock  to  watch  the  settle- 
ment of  quarrels  by  the  manly  art  of  self-defense;  and  only  a  block 
further  away,  where  the  floating  church  was  located  at  the  foot  of 
Pike  Street,  did  I  first  learn  to  swim,  a  lesson  I  shall  never  forget, 
because  I  fell  overboard,  "clothes  and  all,"  and  had  to  sink  or  swim. 
Later  on  I  had  sufficient  self-reliance  with  the  other  boys  in  the 
neighborhood  to  swim  across  to  the  opposite  shore,  and  during  the 
days  of  a  subsequent  particularly  severe  winter  I  enjoyed  a  walk 
across  the  East  River  on  the  ice  to  the  Brooklyn  side. 

When  the  first  bridge  was  in  the  course  of  construction,  then 
known  as  the  East  River  Bridge,  another  youngster,  Billy  Black- 
ford, son  of  an  old-time  stevedore,  and  I  got  within  the  gates  on 
the  Park  Row  side  and  escaping  the  detection  of  the  watchman 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  keeping  out  intruders,  we  walked 

—  110  — 


|w 

VJ 

'\/' 

"U* 

L'" 

r\      AA    /A. 

tt 

tt 

across  the  open  ties  on  the  bridge  work  to  the  Brooklyn  side.  A 
single  mis-step  would  have  precipitated  either  of  us  to  the  river 
below.  We  were  promptly  ordered  out  of  the  Brooklyn  side  of  the 
bridge  and  came  home,  across  Catherine  Ferry,  with  a  vivid  recollec- 
tion of  the  great  adventure  through  which  we  had  passed;  an  ad- 
venture which  lost  none  of  its  glory  by  the  telling,  in  fact  the  vanity 
of  description  resulted  in  the  finest  spanking  my  father  ever  gave 
me.  I  recall  the  night  of  the  official  opening  of  the  same  bridge,  the 
fireworks,  the  music,  tooting  of  the  whistles,  etc.,  as  I  sat  straddling 
the  bowsprit  of  a  California  trader  at  the  foot  of  Dover  Street. 

In  those  days  our  vacations  were  invariably  on  the  Roosevelt 
Street  ferry  to  Hunter's  Point  or  in  the  Battery  Park.  Our  family 
outing  on  Sunday  afternoon  was  along  South  Street  from  Catherine 
Ferry  to  the  Battery  and  it  was  a  great  joy  to  hear  my  father  tell 
us  his  experiences  with  the  various  shipping  lines  and  vessels  in  the 
harbor. 

Before  I  was  ten  years  of  age  I  was  taught  how  to  box  the 
compass,  the  names  of  the  different  sails  and  other  parts  of  the 
various  vessels,  the  difference  between  the  brig  and  the  brigentine, 
the  bark  and  the  barkentine,  the  ship  and  the  schooner.  I  have  fre- 
quently gone  with  my  father  at  midnight  or  later,  when  he  would 
receive  from  the  Maritime  Exchange  a  telegram  that  a  particular 
vessel  had  passed  Sandy  Hook  and  was  on  her  way  to  Quarantine, 
in  an  open  Whitehall  boat  from  Quigley's  Basin,  alongside  of  the 
present  Barge  Office ;  seated  in  the  stern,  while  he  rowed  over  eleven 
miles  down  the  bay  to  meet  the  incoming  vessel,  an  event  which 
happened  more  frequently  in  the  winter  than  in  the  summer,  and  on 
those  occasions  it  was  not  at  all  a  difficult  matter  for  me  to  climb 
up  the  side  of  the  vessel  or  along  the  rope  ladder  which  led  to 
the  deck.  Some  of  the  sailing  vessels  of  that  period  with  which  I 
was  quite  familiar  as  a  boy  were  the  ships,  The  City  of  Philadelphia, 
The  Granite  State,  The  Golden  State,  the  bark  Benefactor,  the  bark- 
entine Carrie  L.  Tyler,  and  the  brig  L.  W.  and  P.  Armstrong.  The 
Golden  State  and  the  Benefactor  belong  to  the  old  firm  of  A.  A. 
Low  &  Company,  of  which  former  Mayor  Seth  Low's  father  was  the 
leading  member.  These  ships  carried  cans  of  oil  to  Java,  China,  and 
Japan,  and  in  return  brought  tea,  spices  and  other  commodities  for 
the  American  market.  I  have  seen  many  interesting  things  on  those 
vessels.  Occasionally  my  father  would  bring  home  a  parrot  or  cock- 
atoo or  parakeet  or  Java  sparrows,  and  frequently  a  monkey.  The 
front  room  on  the  parlor  floor  of  our  house  was  used  by  him  as  an 
office;  in  this  room  was  an  old-fashioned  marble  mantel,  and  around 
one  of  the  mantel  columns  the  monkey  was  tied,  making  it  quite  safe 


111 


-6- 

^ 

-6- 

r\ 

AA 

r\ 

r\ 

/-\ 

\& 

\J 

"0" 

"0" 

"W* 

^ 

u 

VJ 

^ 

u 

,r\, 

w 

\J 

W 

\J 

\J 

\J 

for  us  to  tease  the  monkey,  but  one  day  the  constant  tugging  of 
the  animal  brought  down  the  marble  column,  smashing  one  of  my 
toes.  My  mother  had  a  pronounced  aversion  to  the  species  and  saw 
to  it  after  a  short  time  that  the  monkey  was  given  away.  On  one 
occasion  my  father  brought  home  a  monkey  from  the  bark  Liberia, 
trading  from  the  West  Coast  of  Africa  to  New  York,  a  very  queer, 
light-colored  animal,  which  gave  his  face  an  uncanny  appearance. 
This  monkey  was  tied  to  the  fence  in  the  yard  erected  around  a  stone 
areaway  leading  into  our  kitchen.  One  day,  Mary  Martin,  our  good 
old  Irish  cook,  gave  the  monkey  some  whiskey,  as  a  result  of  which 
he  became  intoxicated;  he  couldn't  stand  on  his  feet  although  he 
made  determined  efforts  to  do  so,  and  apparently  was  enjoying  a 
glorious  time ;  but  in  the  cold  gray  dawn  of  the  morning  after,  the 
monkey  hammered  his  head  against  the  post  and  seemed  to  be  in 
great  agony.  For  the  next  few  weeks  that  he  was  with  us  Mary 
could  not  get  within  twenty  feet  of  that  monkey ;  when  he  saw  her 
he  made  desperate  efforts  to  break  his  leash  and  punish  her  for  the 
pain  and  trouble  she  caused  to  him. 

Not  the  least  interesting  of  my  reminiscences  of  those  days  was 
the  arrival  of  a  ship  sailing  up  the  harbor  to  the  pier,  the  sailors 
singing  the  old-time  chanties  while  they  held  the  ropes  or  revolved 
the  capstain.  I  remember  one  night  standing  at  the  end  of  the  pier 
fascinated  by  the  great  black  hull  and  the  immense  white  sails  slowly 
rising  into  the  starlit  night,  and  out  of  the  silence  came  the  melodies 
of  the  old  chanties.  Some  of  the  lines  of  these  ocean  folksongs  are 
quoted  today  in  the  book  called  "The  Harbor,"  by  Ernest  Poole : 
"As  I  went  a-walking  down  Paradise  Street, 
A  pretty  young  maiden  I  chanced  for  to  meet." 

A  heave  on  the  ropes  and  a  deafening  roar, 
"Blow  the  man  down,  bullies, 
Blow  him  right  down, 
Hey,  hey,  blow  the  man  down." 

Until  the  day  he  passed  away  my  father  never  failed  to  indulge 
his  fancy  about  the  Port,  deploring  the  coming  of  the  steam  vessel 
to  take  the  place  of  the  sailing  ships,  the  romance  of  his  younger 
days. 

But  all  of  this  aside  from  the  question  as  to  what  the  Sandy 
Hook  Pilots'  Association  of  the  Port  of  New  York  meant  to  the 
general  public.  Everybody  in  those  days,  at  least  everybody  con- 
nected with  shipping  or  along  the  river  front,  knew  that  the  pilot 
boat  put  out  to  sea  and  somewhere  beyond  the  Prohibition  limit  of 
today  boarded  the  incoming  vessels  and  guided  them  safely  through 
the   Channels   into   the  port,   occasionally  staying   aboard   the  ship 

—  112  — 


XT 


^ 


T7 


T7 


\  f 


rei 


f^l 


/  . 

•  / 


T7 


^ 


Fel 


•  / 


•  / 


until  it  readied  its  berth.  The  pilots,  of  course,  all  lived  near  the 
water-front,  either  in  lower  New  York  or  in  Brooklyn  or  on  the 
Jersey  side. 

The  life  of  the  pilot  of  today  isn't  as  romantic  as  it  was  centuries 
.•1-40  when  shipping  first  began  as  a  necessity  for  the  development  of 
commerce  in  the  Eastern  section  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  The 
earliest  vessel  I  heard  about  in  my  school  days,  the  bark  Argonaut, 
sailed  through  the  little  harbors  in  and  about  the  ancient  Grecian 
Archipelago;  the  pilots  on  that  trip  were  distracted  by  the  flirta- 
tious mermaids,  particularly  between  the  rocky  shores  of  Scylla  and 
Carybdis.  Orpheus,  the  mythological  god  of  song  and  the  lyre,  was 
not  only  captain  of  the  vessel,  but  also  a  good  judge  of  human 
nature.  He  realized  the  danger  on  the  part  of  the  pilots  on  a  voy- 
age through  these  perilous  waters  unless  they  were  attentive  to  the 
job  for  which  they  were  employed.  He  knew,  too,  that  the  pilots 
had  a  passion  for  music ;  so  he  promptly  took  his  stand  in  the  bow 
of  the  vessel  and  played  beautiful  melodies  on  his  golden  harp,  so 
entrancing  that  they  drew  the  pilots  away  from  the  sirens  of  the 
deep. 

This  story  long  antedated  the  Christian  era,  and  yet  today,  as 
at  that  time,  the  pilot  is  recognized  as  an  advance  agent  for  the 
promotion  of  the  progress  of  the  world,  to  point  out  the  right  course 
to  the  captains  of  industry,  guiding  them  over  the  dangerous  reefs 
and  shoals,  that  man  may  not  only  be  clothed  and  fed  but  also  un- 
hindered in  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  There  is  a  quotation  from  the 
Old  Testament,  Psalm  CVII  23,  "They  that  go  down  in  ships,  that 
do  business  in  great  waters,  these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord  and 
His  wonders  in  the  deep."  This  inscription  over  the  entrance  to 
the  Mersey  Docks  in  Liverpool  greets  every  sailor  and  visitor  from 
across  the  seas  and  suggests  the  mystic  connection  between  a  life 
of  adventure  on  the  ocean  blue  and  unknown  greatness  of  the  world 
beyond.  This  message  from  the  ancient  prophets  has  been  a  signi- 
ficant incentive  for  men  to  choose  such  a  hazardous  vocation  as  the 
pilot's  and  in  a  practicable  but  inconspicuous  manner  to  help  in 
the  task  of  colonizing  the  unknown  parts  of  the  world  by  guiding 
ships  of  all  kinds  through  perilous  places,  transporting  men,  into 
the  ports  and  havens  of  all  points  of  the  compass,  in  order  that 
countries  might  prosper,  that  commerce  might  be  developed  and 
nations  established  and  progressed.  In  our  population  of  six  mil- 
lion people  on  the  New  York  side  of  the  Port  of  New  York*  many 
speaking  strange  tongues  from  every  section  of  the  globe,  scarcely 
any  attention  is  given  to  the  silent  guide  whose  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  reefs  and  shoals  within  and  outside  of  the  harbor  helps  him 


—  113 


£\ 


XJ 


£X 


XJ 


\MMMMMMlS§i 


^ 


u 


Z3. 


T7 


R^l 


£X 


XJ 


jO\ 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


to  safely  lead  the  great  ocean  liners  to  their  berths  of  safety  within 
our  harbor. 

The  evolution  of  our  port  has  been  one  of  the  extraordinary 
events  of  the  age.  An  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  shore  front, 
almost  eight  hundred  miles,  is  utilized  in  trade  alone  is  disclosed  by 
the  fact  that  over  two  hundred  ocean  steamship  companies  and 
agencies  operate  to  foreign  ports  from  New  York ;  thirty-four 
steamship  lines  operate  to  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America, 
forty-seven  lines  to  South  America,  ninety-seven  lines  to  Northern 
and  Western  Europe,  sixty-eight  to  Mediterranean  seaports,  eight 
to  the  East  and  West  Coasts  and  eleven  to  the  South  Coast  of 
Africa,  twenty-nine  lines  to  the  Asiatic,  Australian  and  New  Zealand 
ports ;  something  like  sixty  regular  lines  are  operated  in  coastwise 
and  river  trade,  six  coastwise  lines  to  South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  ports, 
fourteen  to  New  England  ports,  two  barge  lines  carrying  freight  to 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  and  eight  boat  lines  to  points  up  the 
Hudson  River ;  besides  which  there  are  two  canal  lines  operated  via 
the  New  York  State  Barge  Canal  to  Buffalo  and  the  lake  ports. 
London  has  less  than  two  hundred  miles  of  similar  water-front  and 
Liverpool,  Hamburg,  Antwerp  and  Rotterdam  have  considerably 
less.  At  Ambrose  Channel,  which  is  as  familiar  to  the  Sandy  Hook 
pilot  as  Broadway  is  to  the  average  theatrical  manager,  the  United 
States  Government  has  spent  over  half  a  million  dollars  for  new 
light-houses,  buoys  and  range  lanterns,  illuminating  the  entire  length 
of  the  Channel  with  white  lights  on  buoys  on  one  side  and  an  equal 
number  of  red  lights  on  the  other.  Nearly  fifty  per  cent  of  the 
exports  and  nearly  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  imports  of  the  United 
States  are  handled  in  and  through  the  Port  of  New  York,  and  on 
the  New  York  side  there  are  approximately  six  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  piers,  of  which  the  United  States  Government  owns  twenty,  New 
York  State  owns  nine,  private  interests  own  four  hundred  and  ten, 
and  New  York  City  owns  the  balance. 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  this  enormous  development,  the  Port  of  New 
York,  the  great  waterway  of  this  country  could  not  be  the  immense 
financial  and  industrial  success  that  it  is  without  the  Sandy  Hook 
pilot  whose  clear  eye  and  steady  hand  locates  the  points  of  danger 
which  must  be  carefully  avoided  by  all  vessels  coming  into  our 
harbor. 


#        ^ 


114  — 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  "PILOT 
AND  THE  'BOY 

By  Palmer  Campbell 

THE  writer  has  always  been  intensely  interested  in  those  who 
"go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships";  and  so  his  first  recollection  of 
the  man  who  pilots  the  ships  up  from  the  seas  was  a  distinct 
thrill  and  a  lasting  memory. 

It  was  in  November,  1869,  that  as  a  boy  of  12  years  he  voyaged 
from  Liverpool  on  the  old  S.  S.  "Calabria"  of  the  Cunard  Line.  At 
that  time  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Pilots  were  in  intense  riv- 
alry for  business,  and  their  boats  went  far  out,  even  to  points  off 
the  Grand  Banks,  to  secure  customers. 

The  early  morning  of  a  smooth  misty  day  revealed  two  pilot 
boats  racing  under  all  canvass  to  be  first  to  reach  the  steamer. 

Just  which  pilot  won  is  not  remembered,  but  the  one  that  did 
will  never  be  forgotten  by  the  boy  who  watched  the  race  and  saw 
the  victor  win. 

It  was  a  couple  of  days'  run,  in  those  good  old  days,  before  the 
pilot's  duties  and  responsibilities  commenced,  so  he  had  lots  of 
time  to  hang  around  and  swap  yarns  with  the  passengers,  telling 
them  the  last  he  knew  of  happenings  in  the  new  world — some  of 
which,  because  he  had  himself  been  away  a  long  time,  was  stale 
news  to  the  better  posted  passengers. 

One  afternoon  the  writer  sat  on  the  deck  amidst  a  group  who 
were  talking  to  the  pilot,  asking  him  questions  about  the  country 
they  were  going  to.  It  may  have  been  that  because  the  small  lad 
showed  an  intense  interest,  the  pilot  caught  the  telepathy  of  his 
thought;  anyhow  he  turned  to  the  boy  and  said,  "Well,  kid,  where 
are  you  going  to?"  The  surprised  lad  stammered,  "I'm  going  to 
Hoboken,  sir." 

The  writer  remembers  the  utter  confusion  with  which  he  was 
covered  by  reason  of  the  effect  of  this  reply. 

Every  one  burst  into  laughter,  and  the  pilot  said,  "Well,  son, 
you  are  going  to  the  land  of  'Beer  and  Pretzels.'  : 

The  pilot  no  doubt,  in  the  course  of  nature,  has  taken  his  last 
trip  over  the  bar.  The  boy  stuck  to  the  land  of  "Beer  and  Pret- 
zels," and  in  the  course  of  events  became  active  in  making  it  a  most 
important  part  of  the  greatest  port  in  the  world  and,  through  the 
experience  thus  gained,  he  has  realized  that  the  man  who  safely 
pilots  the  navigation  in  and  out  of  the  port  is  after  all  a  most 
valuable  and  important  influence  in  its  development. 

^xi        Lex 
T7J        [T7 

—  115  — 


THE  WORLDS  GREATEST  "PORT 

THERE  can  be  no  question  but  that  New  York  is  the  greatest 
port  in  all  the  world.  From  the  viewpoint  of  natural  harbor 
facilities,  New  York  offers  advantages  that  few  other  harbors 
of  the  world  have  to  offer.  Even  before  the  extensive  dredging  at 
the  harbor  entrance  and  of  the  channels  was  accomplished,  New 
York  presented  a  natural  haven  for  shipping  and  facilities  for  the 
greatest  inflow  of  world  commerce  equalled  nowhere  else  on  earth. 
There  are  other  world  harbors  where  whole  fleets  could  find  safe 
refuge  but  no  other  harbors  where  this  particular  feature  forms  but 
one  of  a  dozen  features  that  combine  to  make  New  York  harbor  the 
most  important  of  all. 

From  the  standpoint  of  commercial  movement  the  Port  of  New 
York  has  also  maintained  a  pre-eminence  among  the  great  seaports 
of  the  world.  If  America's  own  merchant  fleet  did  not  always  con- 
tribute largely  to  the  importance  of  the  Port  of  New  York,  the 
merchant  fleets  of  all  the  other  maritime  countries  of  the  world  did 
contribute  towards  making  New  York  an  all-important  seaport. 
Since  the  growth  of  the  Republic  the  Port  of  New  York  has  grown 
apace  until,  to-day,  it  stands  without  a  peer  among  the  great  sea- 
ports of  the  habitable  globe. 

Many  are  the  things  that  have  contributed  to  make  New  York  a 
great  port  and  many  are  the  men  who  have  aided  in  the  building 
up  of  the  port's  importance.  First,  naturally,  come  the  shipping 
interests  without  whom  no  port  could  become  great;  but,  second 
come  the  far-sighted  business  men  who  saw  New  York's  possibilities 
and  who  made  the  Port  of  New  York  so  attractive  to  shippers  that 
New  York  drew  the  bulk  of  the  trade  and  traffic  coming  to  the  At- 
lantic coast  of  the  United  States  and  gradually  grew  in  commercial 
importance  until  the  name  of  the  city,  as  a  commercial  center,  be- 
came a  by-word  throughout  the  world. 

Even  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  Colonies,  New  York  pressed  for- 
ward in  shipping  importance  of  her  harbor.  It  was  a  prominent 
British  shipmaster  who  said  that  the  Colonists  had  done  more,  be- 
tween 1630  and  16-10,  to  develop  sea  shipping  than  all  the  rest  of 
the  world  had  done  in  the  previous  two  hundred  years.  It  was 
during  the  latter  year  that  New  York  had  grown  to  such  propor- 
tions, commercially,  that  she  had  absorbed  most  of  New  England's 
fur  trade,  putting  New  England  to  the  necessity  of  devoting  its  time 
and  attention  to  fishing  instead  of  trying  to  wrest  pre-eminence  from 
New  York  as  a  commercial  center  and  sea-port.  Twenty  years 
later  a  Captain  Cromwell  took  other  means  of  bringing  the  port  of 
New  York  to  the  attention  of  the  world  although,  possibly,  not  in  a 
way    that    would    bring   him    much    commendation    in    these   honest, 

—  116  — 


\  1 

U 

,/"v 

,     J 

\  / 

VJ 

V7 

W 

\  / 

w 

\  / 

modern  times.  This  skipper  maintained  a  fleet  of  sailing  ships 
so  fast  that  no  pirate  (there  were  plenty  of  them  in  those  early 
days)  or  revenue  cutter  could  overtake  them  and  Skipper  Cromwell 
automatically  exempted  himself,  therefore,  from  paying  any  port 
dues,  taxes  and  the  like  although  he  operated  his  ships  out  of  the 
Port  of  New  York  to  the  West  Indies  and,  overseas,  as  far  as  Mada- 
gascar. His  shipmasters  traded  cargoes  at  sea  at  their  pleasure 
with  other  shipmasters  or,  under  a  mutual  display  of  cannon  and 
cutlasses,  with  pirates.  They  would  also,  occasionally,  capture 
pirates  and  their  pirate  craft — presumably  when  the  pirates  refused 
an  equitable  barter — and  return  to  some  lonely  point  on  Long 
Island,  or  the  Highlands  and  land  their  honest — and  dishonest — 
cargoes,  duty-free.  The  Colony  shipmaster — which  soon  began  to 
mean  the  New  York  shipmaster — soon  got  the  name  of  being  the 
most  intrepid  skipper  of  the  sea  and  a  more  dreaded  factor  in  the 
life  of  the  pirate  than  any  government  revenue  or  naval  officer. 

In  these  days  of  prohibition  in  the  United  States  and  the  fan- 
tastic fortunes  said  to  have  been  made  by  those  engaged  in  boot- 
legging, it  is  interesting  to  record  the  17th  century  voyage  of  a 
Captain  Mulcoy,  in  the  American  brig  Nassau,  out  of  New  York  for 
Madagascar.  Captain  Mulcoy  bought  rum  in  New  York  at  forty- 
five  cents  a  gallon  and  sold  it  oh  the  island  off  the  African,  east  coast 
at  $15  per  gallon.  It  is  not  related  how  many  gallons  the  New 
York  skipper  took  on  board  when  he  sailed  out  of  Sandy  Hook,  but 
the  profit  per  gallon  on  his  cargo  was,  to  say  the  least,  illuminating. 

From  New  York  went  the  first  ship  to  go  from  the  United  States 
to  China.  She  was  the  Empress  of  China,  a  fast  clipper — tea  clip- 
pers they  came  to  be  called — commanded  by  Captain  John  Green, 
with  her  destination  as  Canton.  It  is  said  that  the  Empress  of 
China  cleared  a  profit  of  $50,000  on  the  voyage  to  Canton  and  back 
and  it  was  not  long  before  a  fleet  of  "tea  clippers"  was  in  opera- 
tion in  the  New  York  and  Canton  trade.  In  those  days  and  up  to 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  these  clipper  ships  made 
mighty  fortunes  for  their  owners  and  added  greatly  to  the  world- 
renown  of  New  York  as  a  commercial  port.  Among  the  celebrated 
voyages  recorded  as  having  begun  in  New  York  are  those  of  the 
clipper  ship  Columbia,  late  in  eighteenth  century,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  John  Kendrick,  and  the  sloop  Washington,  Cap- 
tain William  Gray.  The  two  sailing  ships  set  a  course  for  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  United  States,  via  Cape  Horn.  Captain 
Gray  was  the  first  American  shipmaster  to  sail  around  the  world  in 
a  vessel  flying  the  American  flag.  From  the  north  Pacific  Coast 
Captain  Gray  returned  to  New  York  via  Japan,  China,  Singapore 

—  117  — 


W 

-6- 

-6- 

-6- 

-6- 

VJ 

VJ 

Vj 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

\J 

VJ 

VJ 

^ 

and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  having  thus  encircled  the  waters  of  the 
globe.  Captain  Kendrick  remained  in  the  North  Pacific  and  went 
on  a  voyage  of  discovering,  locating  and  naming  the  Straits  of 
Juan  de  Fuca  and  the  Columbia  River.  After  dickering  with  the 
Indians  along  the  Columbia  River,  purchasing  land  and  building 
forts  he  opened  trade  between  the  Columbia  River  and  Canton  and 
made  a  fortune  in  gold  and  the  fur  trade.  Incidentally,  this  New 
York  captain  mapped  out  the  present  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Western  Canada. 

Following  the  War  of  1812  shipping  routes  were  opened  between 
New  York  and  the  Columbia  River,  via  Cape  Horn,  the  ships  out  of 
New  York  went  around  the  Horn  to  China  or  the  north  Pacific  Coast 
of  the  United  States  almost  every  day  in  the  year. 

Today  every  European  country  with  a  sea  outlet  has  its  own 
merchant  fleet  represented  in  the  Port  of  New  York.  In  the  old 
days  it  was  not  unusual  for  European  services  to  have  their  in- 
ception in  New  York  and  so  came  about  the  establishment  of  the 
famous  Black  Ball  fleet  of  fast  packets  and  the  opening  of  the  New 
York-Liverpool  service  by  them  under  the  direction  of  Isaac  Wright 
and  his  associates.  These  swift  sailers  were  not  what  would,  today, 
be  termed  leviathans.  They  were  of  but  400  tons  burden  but  they 
were  palatial  ships  of  their  time  and  they  made  speed  under  their 
tremendous — and  picturesque — spread  of  sail.  This  was  in  1816 
and  the  Black  Ball  fleet,  together  with  the  then  existing  "tea  clip- 
per" fleet,  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  large  American  merchant  marine. 
The  names  of  the  Black  Ball  ships  were  household  words  in  those 
days,  just  as  the  name  of  the  Aquitania,  of  the  Leviathan,  the  Olym- 
pic and  others  of  their  kind  are  to-day.  The  clipper  fleet  included 
the  James  Monroe,  Canada,  Britannia,  Harvest  Queen,  Daniel  Web- 
ster, Montazuma,  Yorkshire,  Great  Western  and  the  Columbus. 

When,  along  about  1823,  there  appeared  to  be  a  great  need 
for  a  regular  service  between  New  York  and  Havre,  it  was  a  group 
of  New  York  shipping  men — not  a  group  of  Parisian  financiers — 
who  started  the  movement  for  a  service  to  France  and  brought  it 
into  being.  Out  of  courtesy  to  the  French  the  majority  of  the 
ships  placed  in  the  New  York-Havre  packet  service  were  given 
French  names,  such  as  the  Henri  IV,  Louise  Philippe,  Silvia  de 
Grase,  etc.  There  were  also  the  Mad  Helen,  Don  Quixote,  Queen 
Mab,  Duchesse  d'Orleans,  Baltimore,  Erie,  Utica,  William  Tell, 
Oneida,  France,  Mercury,  Galia  and  Poughkeepsie.  It  was  a  very 
considerable  fleet  and  greatly  enlarged  the  fame  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  the  hailing  port  of  all  these  vessels. 


—  118 


^ 


r6i 


,/  \ 


\/ 


/  ■., 


\j 


\I 


agg 


^ 


Z2i, 


V7 


/  ., 
\J 


Ol 


\  / 


\7 


,/  .. 


W 


'  / 


/-A 


t7 


^1 


The  two  decades  immediately  preceding  the  Civil  War  were  pro- 
lific in  the  output  of  important  services  having  their  inspiration  and 
inauguration  in  the  Port  of  New  York  which,  at  that  time,  had 
secured  a  firm  hold  in  international  estimation  as  the  most  important 
sea-port  of  the  world.  Some  of  the  most  famous  of  latter-day 
clipper  ships  went  out  of  New  York  to  all  parts  of  the  world  and 
some  of  the  fastest  voyages  were  recorded,  all  starting  from  the  an- 
chorages in  the  Narrows.  So  it  was  that  the  clipper  Flying  Cloud 
made  the  voyage  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco,  via  Cape  Horn, 
in  eighty-nine  days  and  it  was  the  Flying  Cloud's  great  record  that 
caused  the  building  of  her  sister  ship,  the  Great  Republic. 

Decadence  of  the  American  merchant  marine  came  hand  in  hand 
with  the  war  between  the  North  and  the  South.     The  vast  fleets  of 
American  ships,  mostly  of  the  clipper  and  packet  type,  gradually 
disappeared  from  the  harbor  of  New  York.     It  is  interesting,  indeed, 
to    turn   to    that    veteran   pioneer   shipping  journal,    the   Maritime 
Register  and  note  in  its  files  of  the  early  sixties  the  number  of  sail- 
ing ships — American  sailing  ships — reported  as  being  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York  as  against  the  number  of  foreign  vessels  listed.     Slowly 
but   altogether  too   surely   the  number  of   these   staunch   American 
ships  decreased  until  the  American  merchant  marine  became  a  mere 
skeleton   of  its   former   glory.      Except,   possibly,   sentimentally,   it 
made  little  difference  to  the  Port  of  New  York,  for  the  Yankee  ships 
gave  way  to  foreign  ships  and  New  York  harbor  remained  as  crowded 
as  ever  with  shipping  from  all  over  the  world.     Until  the  world  war, 
the  same  Maritime  Register,  in  its  capacity  as  the  unerring,  inexor- 
able weekly  barometer  of  the  world's   shipping,  continued  to  show 
foreign  supremacy  in  the  number  of  ships,  not  only  in  service  on  all 
the  seas  but  in  the  matter  of  the  New  York  anchorages.     During  and 
since  the  war  New  York  harbor  has  come  into  its  own  again  and 
American  ships  again  took  the  lead  in  numbers  seeking  its  shelter 
and  advantages. 

No  world  sea-port  was  called  upon  to  harbor  so  great  a  num- 
ber of  ships  of  all  nations  as  was  New  York  during  the  world  war. 
Thanks  to  men  of  vision  who  saw  the  wonderful  future  opportuni- 
ties for  the  Port  of  New  York,  vast  improvements  in  harbor  and 
pier  facilities  were  undertaken.  R.  A.  C.  Smith,  as  Dock  Commis- 
sioner, did  much  as  a  latter-day  patron  of  the  port  and  his  en- 
thusiasm for  everything  that  would  increase  the  importance  of  New 
York  harbor  was  unbounded.  Murray  Hulbert,  his  successor,  saw 
the  importance  of  providing  deepened  channels  and  wider  fairways 
for  New  York  even  before  he  became  Dock  Commissioner  and  worked 
hard  for  harbor  improvements  for  this  port  in  his  capacity  as  Rep- 


—  119  — 


resentative  in  Congress.  Men  not  in  public  life  but  equally  alive  to 
the  port's  future  did  their  full  share  by  building  up  the  warehouse 
facilities,  the  terminal  railroad  facilities,  harbor  transfer  facilities 
and  freight  handling  facilities  ashore.  So  the  Port  of  New  York 
was  built  up  to  its  modern,  up-to-the-hour  standard  by  public-spir- 
ited men  of  many  varied  business  activities,  running  the  gamut  from 
shipping,  marine  insurance,  warehousing,  railroading,  harbor  trans- 
portation, freight  handling,  brokerage,  quick  ship-repairing,  truck- 
ing and  ship  chandlery  to  the  more  remotely  connected  industries. 

There  are  no  finer  wharfing  facilities  in  any  port  of  the  world 
today  than  in  New  York  Harbor.  We  have  yet  to  reach  the  state 
of  perfection  where  trains  with  merchandise  may  roll  right  up  to  the 
outgoing  freight  steamers  or  where  empty  trains  may  roll  right  up 
to  outgoing  vessels  on  the  piers  but  even  in  that  direction  the  Port 
of  New  York  has  made  a  very  good  start.  Vessels  of  any  draught 
may  safely  come  to  an  anchorage  in  the  calm  waters  of  the  upper 
or  lower  bay,  however,  and  there  are  few  piers  along  the  broad 
Hudson  where  deep-draught  deep-sea  craft  cannot  find  immediate 
berthing  facilities  at  either  high  or  low  tide. 

On  any  bright  morning — for  New  York's  shipping  seems  to 
come  out  of  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  harbor  like  bees  swarming 
from  the  hive,  coaxed  out  by  a  brilliant  morning  sun — one  could 
take  a  photograph  from  the  Battery,  with  Staten  Island  as  the  dis- 
tant background,  and  have  a  picture  that  would  be  practically  legal 
proof  that  half  a  hundred  craft  were  doing  their  maritime  best  to 
run  into,  sideswipe  or  back  up  against  one  another.  On  such  a 
morning  one  may  see  ocean  steamships,  with  perhaps  an  Olympic, 
a  Mauretania  or  Rotterdam  in  the  general  scheme,  sailing  vessels, 
coal  barges,  steam  lighters  and  queer  little  local  lighters  depending 
upon  one  awkward  and  disreputable  sail  for  motive  power,  puffing 
and  wheezing  little  tugboats,  coastwise  steamers  and  veranda-decked 
Sound  steamers  and  excursion  craft,  little  yawls  with  noisy  "kick- 
ers," mud  scows  at  the  ends  of  huge  tow  lines  and  the  inevitable  row-1 
boats  of  the  junk  dealers,  all  happily  pursuing  their  independent 
courses  amidst  a  perfect  din  of  shrieking  whistles  from  the  smaller 
steam  and  motor  vessels  and  the  low,  sonorous  blasts  from  the  deep- 
throated  whistles  of  the  craft  of  more  imposing  tonnage. 

The  war  changed  much  in  New  York  Harbor,  as  it  changed  much 
in  other  parts  of  the  world — not  forgetting  Potsdam  and  Vienna. 
So  it  is  that  the  famous  old  "tea  wharves"  and  the  Far  East  stores 
are  now  not  so  distinctly  segregated  as  they  were  before  the  days 
of  1914.  Over  in  South  Brooklyn,  for  instance,  there  used  to  be  an 
unmistakable  smell  of  spices,  teas  and  things  Oriental,  with  a  visible 


—  120 


,.     v, 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


J^ 


\  1 


.{  \ 


XT 


/  , 


XT 


/  \ 


XT 


XX  XX, 

XT  XT 


/  -, 


XJ 


J  \ 


XT 


jz± 


XT 


XX 


XJ 


/\ 


\  7 


XTXT 


/  ., 


XJ 


/  .. 


XJ 


/  . 


XT 


■  / 


rBi 


mixture  of  turbanned  Lascars  and  Javanese,  where  the  docks  of  the 
freight  lines  running  ships  to  and  from  the  Far  East.  Army  bases, 
born  of  war's  necessities,  have  supplanted  some  of  these  interesting 
places  along  the  New  York  water-front,  although  a  return  to  normal 
conditions  is  doing  away  with  the  last  vestiges  of  militarism  and 
navalism,  in  and  about  the  harbor  of  America's  greatest  city.  Still, 
distinct  sections  for  distinct  foreign  products  are  no  longer  the 
rule  and  the  Lascar  crew  now  walks  ashore  from  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Woolworth  Building,  at  a  Hudson  River  pier,  quite  as  often 
as  from  a  pier  in  the  old  Red  Hook  flats  section. 

Although  at  this  very  instant  rejoicing  in  the  return  to  nor- 
malcy and  the  gradual  disappearance  of  army  bases  in  the  Port  of 
New  York,  a  sketch  of  the  port's  history  would  hardly  be  complete 
without  calling  attention  to  the  wonderful  engineering  feat  accom- 
plished when  some  brilliant  mind  in  the  Army  Engineer's  Office 
thought  out  a  scheme  to  enlarge  famous  Governor's  Island.  The 
work  was  begun  several  years  before  the  world  war  began  and  New 
Yorkers  generally  opined  that  it  was  a  needless  expenditure  of  gov- 
ernment (and  the  tax-payers')  funds  and  of  no  use  except  to  pro- 
vide the  garrison's  officers  and  their  families  more  promenade  room 
and  better  tennis  court  facilities.  It  is  not  on  record  who  first  sug- 
gested the  extensive  job  that  finally  converted  Governor's  Island 
into  a  body  of  land,  surrounded  entirely  by  water,  of  a  size  suffi- 
cient to  provide  space  for  a  respectable  small  city ;  but  it  is  a  matter 
of  record  that,  since  the  memorable  day  in  April,  1916,  when  the 
United  States  decided  that  we  would  enter  the  world  war,  the  gov- 
ernment was  able  to  expedite  effective  shipments  overseas  directly 
from  its  New  York  military  reservation  and  to  train  thousands  of 
men  there,  a  feat  that  would  have  been  entirely  out  of  question 
before  Governor's  Island  was  made  more  than  twice  as  large  by  the 
mere  reclamation  of  a  shallow-water  portion  of  the  upper  bay.  The 
man  who  first  suggested  the  improvement  built  better  than  he  knew 
— unless  he  had  inside  information  at  least  five  years  in  advance  of 
any  other  American  as  to  Germany's  plans  for  August,  1914. 
Thirty-five  large,  fire-proof  warehouses,  each  with  a  standard  gauge 
railroad  track,  on  either  side,  on  which  freight  cars  are  brought  and 
loaded  directly  at  the  doors  of  the  warehouses,  today  form  an  elo- 
quent tribute  to  the  fortunate  idea  that  the  originator  of  the  Gov- 
ernor's Island  improvement  developed  and  carried  to  a  successful 
finish.  Airplanes,  now  so  common  that  the  average  New  Yorker 
hardly  lifts  his  eyes  from  his  morning  or  afternoon  newspaper  to 
glance  at  them  in  the  skies,  rise  up  from  one  of  the  most  complete 
aviation  fields  in  the  country — in  the  heart  of  the  Governor's  Island 


—  121  — 


XJ 


r\ 


XJ 


s-fr 


XJ 


zx  x± 


XJ 


XJ 


/a, 

XJ 


^ 


F51 


T7 


/Z\ 


V7 


r> 

AA 

AA 

V7 

w 

IV 

XJ 


\J 

XI 

\J 

extension — all  day  long  of  every  day  in  the  week,  and  huge  car  floats 
bring  to  or  take  away  from  the  military  reservation  long  strings  of 
filled  or  empty  freight  ears,  with  huge  locomotives  puffing  over  the 
twenty  miles  of  tracks  on  the  island,  where  formerly  a  ten-minute 
gallop  on  horse-back  sufficed  to  cover  the  entire  circuit  of  the  re- 
servation for  the  army  officers  stationed  there. 

There  is  a  good  story  in  connection  with  the  Governor's  Island 
improvement  that  ought  to  go  down  in  history.  Before  a  single 
foundation  stone  was  laid  for  the  new  sea  wall  of  the  larger  island, 
bids  were  asked  for  establishing  and  maintaining  a  light  at  the  south- 
ern-most end  of  the  proposed  extension,  "with  a  vessel  anchored  at 
the  point."  The  successful  bidder  received,  it  has  been  said  on 
good  authority,  ten  dollars  per  day  for  providing  "a  vessel  at  an- 
chor"— besides  pay  for  the  services  of  a  watchman  at  all  hours  on 
board  the  vessel.  It  has  been  told  and  never  denied  that  the  suc- 
cessful bider  paid  one  hundred  dollars  for  a  little  schooner  and  had 
her  towed  out  to  the  point  where  the  light  was  to  be  maintained. 
At  high  water  the  little  schooner  was  maneuvered  directly  over  the 
shoal,  with  some  difficulty,  settling  down  gracefully  on  the  rocks  at 
low  water,  and  from  that  day  until  her  presence  was  no  longer  nec- 
essary, about  five  years  in  all,  she  drew  ten  dollars  a  day  for  her 
lucky  owner.  When  time  came  to  remove  the  "vessel  at  anchor" 
they  picked  the  loose  boards  and  beams  and  loaded  them  on  a  float, 
for  the  schooner  would  have  crumbled  into  pieces  had  a  tow-line 
been  fastened  to  her.  Some  eighteen  hundred  days  at  ten  dollars 
per  diem  seems  a  fair  return  for  an  initial  and  total  investment  of 
something  less  than  two  hundred  dollars. 

Thus  we  have  shown  that,  besides  offering  the  greatest  natural 
shelter  of  any  port  in  the  world,  the  most  extensive  dock  facilities, 
anchorage  facilities  and  harbor  transfer  facilities,  the  Port  of  New 
York  also  may  boast  one  of  the  greatest  harbor-island  military 
bases,  one  of  the  show  spots,  surely,  of  the  port,  and  one  of  the 
most  important  harbor  improvements  ever  undertaken. 

There  are  still  greater  improvements  contemplated  for  New  York 
Harbor,  chief  among  which  is  the  belt  line  elevated  structure  which, 
it  is  planned,  will  provide  a  continuous  freight  route  touching  at 
every  pier  along  the  Hudson  and  East  Rivers,  obviating  the  present 
necessity  of  rehandling  freight  to  and  from  shipping,  which  is  grow- 
ing in  volume  every  year.  Such  a  plan  would  do  away  with  much  of 
the  harbor  congestion  in  that  the  cumbersome  freight-car  floats 
would  no  longer  be  needed  to  transport  freight  cars  from  one  section 
of  the  port  to  another  between  railroad  terminals  and  the  steamship 
piers. 


122  — 


U 

.    ., 


\  / 


t7 


^1 


T7 


g^SS^HS^SS 


/  ., 


'  / 


^ 


"■/ 


No  outline  of  the  Port  of  New  York  is  complete  without  a  men- 
tion of  the  fishing  fleet,  ;i  most  formidable  adjunct  to  the  port's  com- 
mercial importance.  Of  course  fishing  is  not  done  on  the  same  pic- 
turesque lines — from  out  of  New  York  harbor — as  it  was  done  in 
former  years;  but  there  is  still  considerable  activity  in  the  famous 
Fulton  Fish  Market,  which  has  held  its  place  at  the  same  location 
through  all  the  years  and  through  the  various  periods  of  moderniz- 
ing. This  applies  equally  well  to  the  fisher  folk  as  to  the  vessels  they 
use  in  their  trade  and  the  manner  in  which  they  dispose  of  their 
wares.  The  advent  of  cold  storage  has  taken  much  of  the  quaintness 
out  of  Fulton  Market  but  every  now  and  then  there  is  a  report  of  an 
old-time  race  between  rival  fishermen  and  the  arrival  of  the  swift, 
clean-cut  although  smelly  fishing  boats  is  always  a  matter  of  excite- 
ment and  speculation   along  the  East  River  water  front. 

There  has  been  rapid  and  splendid  improvement  in  steamship 
piers  during  the  last  ten  years.  The  advent  of  the  Mauretania  and 
Lusitania  made  the  change  of  pier  facilities  imperative  and  the 
arrival  of  the  Lusitania,  the  pioneer  giantess  of  the  seas,  at  the 
newly  constructed  Chelsea  piers,  then  still  uncovered,  was  an  event 
that  drew  hundreds  of  thousands  of  persons  to  the  section  of  Man- 
hattan just  above  Gansevoort  Market.  Before  those  days  the 
ships  of  the  Cunard  Line,  like  those  of  the  White  Star  Line,  berthed 
just  below  Gansevoort  Market,  the  piers  now  occupied  by  the 
Southern  Pacific  Company.  The  French  Line  used  an  old  pier 
structure  at  the  foot  of  Morton  Street,  while  the  American  Line 
had  its  New  York  Terminal  at  the  old  piers  at  the  foot  of  Cortland 
Street.  The  structure  and  roof  of  the  old  French  Line  pier  was 
the  original  roof  of  Mechanics  Hall  of  the  Centennial  Exposition 
and  was  brought  over  from  Philadelphia  in  1876  and  placed  over 
the  open  Morton  Street  pier.  The  historic  pier  structure  was 
removed  when  the  French  Line  moved  to  the  new  Chelsea  pier  and 
floated  down  the  Hudson  River  to  a  junk  yard.  The  sight  of  the 
historic  pier  being  towed  to  a  South  Brooklyn  "graveyard,"  where 
old  ships  and  marine  junk  are  gathered  prior  to  being  made  over 
into  salable  parts,  was  one  of  the  events  in  the  harbor  the  day  the 
old  Mechanics  Hall  roof  came  drifting  around  the  Battery  on  her 
way  to  the  Brooklyn  shore. 

In  a  resume  of  the  statistical  history  of  the  Port  of  New  York, 
former  Collector  of  the  Port,  Byron  R.  Newton,  brought  some  in- 
teresting figures  showing  the  growth  of  commerce  in  New  York 
viewed  from  a  shipping  standpoint.  Including  the  coastwise  trade, 
said  Mr.  Newton  some  time  ago,  the  commerce  of  the  Port  of 
New  York  amounts  annually  to  the  enormous  figure  of  more  than 


—  123 


A\ 


T7 


A 


XJ 


j£\ 


XJ 


A\ 


V7 


AX 


XJ 


_/-\ 


XJ 


JZ\ 


XJ 


mw 


A 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


"6**6* 

r\ 

r\ 

J  \ 

\J 

\J 

\J 

/  \ 
\J 

\J 

% 


five  billions  of  dollars  and  the  more  interesting  thing  is  that,  so 
far  as  human  vision  can  reach,  the  Port  of  New  York  has  just  be- 
gun to  grow.  Ordinary  statistics  are  uninteresting  but  the  statistics 
of  the  port  of  New  York  tell  a  story  of  magical  growth.  In  the 
year  1850,  Mr.  Newton  points  out,  the  foreign  commerce  of  the 
port  of  New  York,  imports  and  exports,  amounted  to  $163,336,313. 
In  the  year  1917 — sixty-seven  years  later — the  foreign  commerce  of 
the  port  amounted  to  $-1,391,318,859,  an  increase  of  nearly  four 
and  a  half  billions,  or  a  growth  of  2,700  per  cent  in  sixty-seven 
years.  In  1850  the  port  of  New  York  transacted  19  per  cent  of 
the  import  and  export  trade  of  the  United  States ;  in  1917  it  trans- 
acted 50.2  per  cent,  showing  through  the  interim  of  sixty-seven 
years  a  marvelous  development  and  growth,  during  which  time  many 
other  ports  of  foreign  trade  were  established  in  this  country.  The 
port  of  New  York  has  not  only  maintained  its  proportionate  stand- 
ard of  commerce  in  1850,  but  has  made  an  advance.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  through  this  one  gateway  of  the  hemisphere  on  the  At- 
lantic seaboard  there  passes  each  year  more  than  one-half  the  for- 
eign commerce  of  the  country.  While  the  commerce  of  most  of  the 
other  ports  of  the  world  has  materially  diminished  during  the  period 
of  the  world  war  the  commerce  of  the  port  of  New  York  has  steadily 
grown,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  table  of  imports  and  exports 
of  merchandise  at  the  customs  district  of  New  York  during  the 
fiscal  years  from  1912  to  1920,  inclusive: 


Year 

Imports 

1912 

$    975,744,320 

1913 

1,048,329,629 

1914 

1,040,380,526 

1915 

931,011,058 

1916 

1,191,865,982 

1917 

1,338,199,355 

1918 

1,251,386,373 

1919 

1,443,504,899 

1920 

2,892,621,089 

The 

above  table  not   < 

Exports 

$  817,945,803 
917,935,988 
864,546,338 
1,193,581,088 
2,332,286,213 
3,053,119,504 
2,613,048,763 
3,204,992,419 


Total 
$1,793,690,123 
1,966,265,617 
1,904,926,864 
2,124,592,146 
3,524,152,195 
4,391,318,859 
3,864,435,136 
4,638,497,318 
6,176,494,431 


3,283,873,342 

not  only  shows  the  remarkable  growth  of  the 
commerce  of  the  Port  of  New  York  at  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  of 
1920  but  taking  in  consideration  that  the  total  imports  of  the 
entire  country  during  1920  were  $5,278,481,490  and  the  total 
exports  of  the  country  were  $8,080,480,821  during  the  same  fiscal 
year,  shows  that  the  Port  of  New  York's  imports  during  that  year 
were  54.8%  of  the  total  imports  of  the  entire  United  States  and 
the  exports  39.91^   of  the  country's  total.     If  anything  were  needed 


—  124  — 


^1 


A   \ 


\    I 


1   \ 


*u 


/  \, 


\  ! 


T7 


\f 


fx. 


\  I 


J        L 
\     / 


^\ 


'       I 


J      .. 


tr^ 


-{      , 


m 


^ 


£\ 


'   / 


^TO 


to  show  the  pre-eminence  of  New  York  as  a  commercial  port  these 
figures  furnish  the  indisputable  proof. 

Nature's  architect  and  development  of  the  world's  commerce 
have  made  the  port  of  New  York  what  it  is,  and  these  same  factors 
will  perpetuate  and  enlarge  its  importance  as  the  commercial  centre 
of  the  world.  It  is  the  natural,  convenient  and  practical  gateway 
to  the  great  storehouse  of  the  world  today. 

Figures  covering  the  entrance  and  departure  of  vessels  from 
the  various  world  ports  for  the  year  1920  are  not  available,  with  a 
few  exceptions,  at  this  time,  but  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the 
comparison  between  New  York  and  Antwerp,  one  of  the  important 
ports  of  Europe,  show  which  way  the  "wind  blows"  in  the  matter 
of  shipping  supremacy.  During  1920  -15,637  vessels,  aggregating 
64,104,035  tons,  entered  and  cleared  United  States  ports,  of  which 
total  5,283  vessels  entered  and  cleared  from  the  Port  of  New  York. 
If  it  is  taken  into  consideration  that  there  are  twenty-six  customs 
districts  in  the  United  States,  of  which  the  Port  of  New  York  forms 
one  district,  New  York  assumed  the  responsibility  of  nearly  10% 
of  the  total  ship  movements  of  the  entire  United  States  out  of 
twenty-six  customs  districts.  Of  the  total  of  61,101,035  tons  that 
moved  in  and  out  of  the  United  States  customs  districts,  the  Port 
of  New  York  moved  a  total  of  17,101,188  tons,  or  between  one- 
third  and  one-fourth  of  the  total  tonnage  of  shipping  for  the  entire 
United  States.  As  against  the  61,101,035  tons  of  shipping  that 
moved  in  and  out  of  the  Port  of  New  York  during  1920,  but  20,- 
703.000  tons  of  shipping  moved  in  and  out  of  the  port  of  Antwerp 
during  the  same  year  and  but  10,896,694  tons  moved  in  and  out  of 
the  port  of  Marseilles,  another  very  active  world  port,  during  the 
same  period. 

New  York,  therefore,  safely  holds  its  place  as  the  greatest  com- 
mercial port  of  the  world  and  it  is  to  the  business  men  of  New  York, 
the  shipping  men  of  New  York,  the  marine  insurance  men  of  New 
York  and  to  all  those  who  have  contributed  in  any  way  to  advanc- 
ing the  port's  interests  as  the  greatest  world  harbor  that  credit 
should  be  given  for  this  great  commercial  supremacy.  It  is  in  that 
spirit  and  the  belief  that  any  work  purporting  to  portray  the  de- 
velopment of  our  Port  would  be  sadly  incomplete  without  fitting 
reference  to  the  individual  business  interests  which  have  been  such 
vital  factors  in  its  growth,  that  the  Sandy  Hook  Pilots  have  deemed 
it  a  pleasure  to  include  in  their  book  brief  articles  of  interest  re- 
garding such  concerns  which,  in  many  cases,  will  be  found  of  very 
great  historical  value. 


—  125  — 


R.  A.  C.  SMITH 

Dock  Commissioner  of  the  City  of  New  York  during  the  administration  of 

Mayor  Gay  nor 


PORT  FACILITIES 

NO  PORT  in  the  world  perhaps  lias  developed  to  so  great 
proportions  in  such  a  short  period  as  has  the  Port  of  New 
York.  Commenting  on  its  phenomenal  growth  and  its  great 
facilities,  Former  Dock  Commissioner  K.  A.  C.  Smith  has  to  say: 
"I  shall  always  consider  it  a  very  great  privilege  to  have  repre- 
sented the  City  of  New  York  in  its  port  administration  before  and 
during  part  of  the  Great  War.  I  came  to  the  dock  commissioner- 
ship  after  a  lifetime  spent  in  close  touch  with  maritime  affairs,  and 
a  full  realization  of  the  magnitude  of  the  task  of  operating  the 
greatest  port  in  the  world.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  actual 
outbreak  of  the  war  that  the  port  was  called  upon  to  carry  a  bur- 
den which  it  was  never  designed  to  bear.  How  splendidly  its  facili- 
ties met  the  nation's  need  is  now  a  matter  of  history.  Federal,  State 
and  City  authorities   all  worked  in  the  utmost  harmony. 

"The  orderly  building  up  of  the  port  for  commercial  needs  did 
not  stop  during  the  war.  In  the  four  and  one-half  years  of  my 
commissionership,  over  seven  and  one-half  miles  of  new  commercial 
wharfage  space  was  provided,  including  immense  freight  piers  in 
South  Brooklyn,  and  the  finest  passenger  pier  in  the  world  on  the 
North  River  at  44th  street,  Manhattan,  the  first  of  a  series  of  piers 
which  the  City  must  eventually  construct.  These  structures  were 
planned  under  my  administration  before  the  World  War,  and  were 
built  during  those  critical  days  because  the  officials  were  big  enough 
to  see  that  the  Port  of  New  York  was  bound  to  go  forward  and 
that  it  must  be  kept  the  premier  port  of  the  world. 

"The  piers  which  were  built  served  splendidly  the  purposes,  help- 
ing out  the  army  and  navy  by  supplementing  the  Hoboken  piers  of 
the  former  German  liners,  which  were  used  as  the  port  of  em- 
barkation. 

"Much  has  been  said  of  the  lack  of  organization  of  the  port  of 
New  Yrork — its  congestion  and  the  difficulty  and  expense  wTith  which 
business  is  done  in  this  harbor.  There  is  undoubtedly  some  truth 
in  these  criticisms  and  complaints  ;  but  that  New  York  is  the  worst 
organized  port  in  the  world,  as  is  so  frequently  stated,  is  very  far 
from  the  truth.  Many  of  the  criticisms  leveled  at  the  Port  are 
dictated  from  ignorance  as  to  actual  conditions  and  the  underlying 
reasons  for  certain  shipping  practices  which  perhaps  appear  crude 
to  the  superficial  onlooker.  The  Port  undoubtedly  suffers  from 
lack  of  continuity  of  administration.  The  practically  automatic 
changing  of  commissioners  every  four  years  does  not  make  for 
efficiency ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  secure  competent  men  willing  to  make 
the  great  personal  sacrifice  involved  in  accepting  the  office  of  dock 
commissioner. 

—  127  — 


XJ 


XJ 


^ 


<£\ 


XJ 


^-\ 


XJ 


£V 


XJ 


ZA, 


V7 


^R^ 


/Z\ 


XJ 


/Z\ 


V7 


a-. 


XJ 


/I\ 


XJ 


XJ 


\xjW\ 


XJ 


"Whether  the  plan  recently  adopted  of  an  interstate  commis- 
sion will  work  out  successfully  remains  to  be  seen.  Much  depends 
upon  whether  the  development  and  management  of  the  port  is 
approached  with  a  practical  appreciation  of  its  necessities.  All  of 
those  sincerely  interested  in  the  future  of  the  port  will  await  with 
intense  interest  the  production  of  practical  plans  by  the  interstate 
port  authorities. 

"There  is  one  point  which  particularly  interests  pilots  and  those 
engaged  in  the  navigation  of  vessels,  and  that  is  the  constant  tend- 
ency to  encroach  upon  the  fairway  of  the  Hudson  River.  Both 
during  my  commissionership  and  prior  to  that  time  as  chairman  of 
the  New  York  State  Commission  on  Port  Conditions  and  Pier  Ex- 
tensions, the  matter  was  thrashed  out  very  carefully  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  Hon.  Elihu  Root,  and  his  successors,  after  numerous 
hearings  before  the  N.  Y.  Harbor  Line  Board  under  the  direction  of 
its  able  staff  of  engineers  headed  by  William  M.  Black,  later  Chief  of 
Engineers ;  and  the  city  formally  pledged  itself  not  to  seek  further 
extensions ;  to  consider  the  Chelsea  Pier  extensions  as  temporary 
and  to  proceed  in  the  carrying  out  of  a  program  for  taking  care 
of  the  Leviathan  type  of  passenger  ships  by  constructing  a  great 
marine  terminal  in  the  neighborhood  of  West  44th  street,  already 
alluded  to.  The  first  step  was  the  building  of  the  44th  street  pier, 
1,000  ft.  in  length,  360  ft.  slips  with  44  ft.  depth.  The  city  should 
keep  to  its  pledge  and  no  further  encroachments  should  be  tolerated. 

"Our  entry  into  the  World  War  prevented  the  construction  of 
the  Staten  Island  piers,  and  other  improvements  on  lower  Man- 
hattan, which  have  since  been  carried  out  by  the  city." 


R5I 


T7 


128  — 


THE  PORT  OF  °MEW  YORK 
AUTHORITY 

THE  difficulties  under  a  divided  jurisdiction  of  two  States  and 
more  than  a  hundred  municipalities  have  heretofore  precluded 
a  rational  and  co-ordinated  development  of  the  Port  of   New- 
York's  great  natural  advantages. 

Realizing  what  it  meant  to  both  States,  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey in  1917  created  a  Commission  made  up  of  representatives  of 
the  two  States  and  provided  funds  for  the  study  of  this  problem. 

The  creation  of  the  Port  District  and  the  New  York  Port  Au- 
thority, is  the  outcome  of  this  study. 

Under  laws  passed  by  the  States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey, 
the  Port  Treaty  or  compact,  was  signed  on  April  30,  1921,  by  the 
designated  representatives  of  each  State.  By  this  Treaty,  both 
States  agree  to,  and  pledge  to  each  with  the  other  faithful  co-op- 
eration in  the  future  planning  and  development  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  holding  in  high  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  nation  the  spe- 
cial blessings   and  natural  advantages   thereof. 

Thereby  was  created  the  Port  of  New  York  District,  extending 
roughly  from  the  City  Hall,  in  Manhattan,  25  miles  to  the  north, 
16  miles  to  the  east,  23  miles  to  the  south,  and  20  miles  to  the  west; 
including  the  principal  communities  within  what  has  been  been  called 
the  Metropolitan  District  in  New  York  and  in  New  Jersey. 

By  the  Port  Treaty  there  was  created  and  placed  in  jurisdic- 
tion over  this  district  the  Port  of  New  York  Authority,  a  public 
corporation  made  up  of  three  men  appointed  by  each  State. 

The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  realizing  the  value  of  co- 
operation between  the  communities  in  the  development  of  the  Port, 
approved  this  compact,  and  its  approval  was  signed  by  President 
Harding  on  August  23,  1921. 

The  members  of  the  Port  Authority  are  Eugenius  H.  Outer- 
bridge,  of  New  York,  Chairman;  J.  Spencer  Smith,  of  New  Jersey, 
Vice-chairman;  Commissioners  Alfred  E.  Smith,  of  New  York,  Lewis 
H.  Pounds,  of  New  York,  De  Witt  Van  Buskirk,  of  New  Jersey 
and  Frank  R.  Ford,  of  New  Jersey.  Offices  are  maintained  at  11 
Broadway,  New  York  City. 

The  Port  Authority  is  directed  by  law  to  make  studies,  con- 
duct investigations,  hold  hearings  and  conferences,  and  to  submit  a 
comprehensive  plan  for  the  development  of  the  Port  District  based 
upon  the  results  of  such  studies,  investigations,  hearings  and  con- 
ferences, together  with  recommendations  for  such  legislation  as  they 
may  deem  appropriate  for  the  effectuation  and  consummation  of 
such  plan. 

—  129  — 


THE  AMERICAN  "BUREAU  OF 

SHIPPING 

ONE  of  the  feats  already  accomplished  in  our  nation-wide 
efforts  for  the  rehabilitation  of  our  merchant  marine,  was  the 
building  up  and  establishment  on  a  firm  foundation  of  Amer- 
ica's classification  society,  the  American  Bureau  of  Shipping. 

This  desideratum  was  early  recognized  as  one  of  the  principal 
obstacles  to  overcome  in  the  renaissance  of  our  ocean  shipping,  for 
without  it  we  would  still  be  dependent  upon  the  classification 
facilities  of  our  leading  rivals  in  shipping,  in  order  to  aid  in 
accomplishing  that  vital  concomitant  of  a  merchant  marine,  a 
successful  marine  insurance  system  controlled  within  our  own 
borders  by  American  companies.  A  group  of  the  leading  American 
ship-owners,  marine  underwriters  and  shipbuilders  early  in  1916, 
after  debating  various  ways  and  means  of  accomplishing  this 
object,  decided  that  the  best  method  of  procedure  would  be  to 
but  breathe  the  breath  of  life  in  the  then  somewhat  somnolent 
American  institution  known  as  the  American  Bureau  of  Shipping. 
This  organization  chartered  by  the  State  of  New  York,  had  then 
been  in  existence  for  nearly  half  a  century,  but  on  account  of 
comparatively  small  needs  incident  to  an  inconsequential  merchant 
marine,  had  very  limited  facilities  for  undertaking  what  was  then 
seen  by  these  men  of  vision,  the  classification  of  the  immense  fleet 
necessary  to  put  the  United  States  on  the  map  as  a  contender  in 
the  ocean  carrying  trade.  Donations  of  sufficient  amount  were 
immediately  forthcoming  from  the  patriotic  supporters  of  the 
necessary  reorganization,  and  Mr.  Stevenson  Taylor,  a  man  well 
known  and  respected  in  the  shipping  industry  and  who  possessed 
the  necessary  qualifications  for  this  great  undertaking,  was  unani- 
mously agreed  upon  to  head  the  organization.  How  well  he,  with 
the  patriotic  backing  of  many  leading  Americans  has  succeeded  in 
the  task,  is  well  shown  in  the  success  of  the  bureau  today. 

Overcoming  almost  insurmountable  obstacles  the  organization 
was  built  up  to  such  a  point  of  efficiency  that  the  United  States 
Government,  by  Act  of  Congress  approved  June  5th,  1920,  gave 
it  recognition,  and  declared  it  to  be  the  official  classification 
society  for  all  branches  of  the  federal  government.  It  also,  by 
the  same  act,  placed  two  representatives,  one  from  the  Shipping 
Board  and  one  from  the  Department  of  Commerce,  on  its  executive 
committee. 

As  a  result  of  all  these  efforts,  this  society  is  today  capable  of 
furnishing  recognized  and  reliable  classification  in  this  country  for 
all  American  owned  vessels,  without  recourse  to  the  long  established 
classification    agencies   of   our   foreign   competitors.      Its    surveyors 

—  130  — 


^1 

17 

VJ 

i> 

u 

•e- 

1/ 

u 

u 

w 

may  be  found  at  all  the  larger  American  seaports,  and  at  all  places 
where  ships  are  built  or  ship  material  is  manufactured  in  this 
country. 

Now  that  the  great  rush  of  shipbuilding  in  this  country  has 
subsided,  and  we  are  about  to  enter  upon  normal  conditions  in  all 
branches  of  industry,  the  managers  of  the  society  are  engaged  in 
perfecting  various  details  which  a  national  classification  society 
should  undertake,  in  order  to  make  it  of  the  greatest  value  in 
building  up  our  merchant  marine  in  all  its  branches. 

As  our  ships  emerged  from  the  building  yards  and  became 
engaged  in  transporting  our  goods  to  the  various  ports  of  the 
world,  it  became  incumbent  upon  the  Bureau  to  expand  its  facil- 
ities for  survey  work  at  such  leading  parts  of  the  globe,  where 
they  could  be  of  the  greatest  service  to  our  shipping.  Hence,  its 
Board  of  Managers  appropriated  a  sufficient  sum  of  money  to 
establish  exclusive  agencies,  after  thorough  investigation  as  to  our 
needs,  at  ports  most  frequented  by  our  merchantmen.  Already 
competent  surveyors,  American  citizens  carefully  selected,  have 
been  located  at  such  ports  as  Shanghai,  Hamburg,  Antwerp, 
Havre,  Bordeaux,  Buenos  Aires,  Rio  Janeiro,  San  Juan,  Porto 
Rico,  Havana,  etc.  Non-exclusive  surveyors  of  the  Bureau  are  to 
be  found  at  nearly  all  ports  where  American  ships  may  call,  and 
as  rapidly  as  our  trade  expands  and  the  conditions  warrant, 
exclusive  surveyors  will  be  detailed  from  the  trained  force  at  home, 
to  the  principal  ports  not  now  so  covered. 

An  alliance  has  been  entered  into  with  the  British  Corporation, 
the  Registro  Navale  Italiano  and  the  Imperial  Maritime  Corpo- 
ration of  Japan,  whereby  all  classification  work  in  this  country  for 
those  societies  and  all  American  Bureau  inspections  in  ports  of 
those  countries  will  be  looked  after  by  the  recognized  exclusive 
surveyors  of  each  nation.  At  certain  other  ports  throughout  the 
world  exclusive  surveyors  for  the  members  of  the  alliance  will  be 
maintained,  where  otherwise  the  conditions  might  warrant  the 
emplo3Tment  of  non-exclusive  surveyors  only  for  the  individual 
classification  societies. 

Recognizing  the  growing  importance  of  internal  combustion 
ngines,  and  the  inadequacy  of  all  existing  classification  rules  for 
engines  of  this  type,  the  American  Bureau  has  recently  thoroughly 
revised  its  rules  for  this  type  of  motive  power.  They  are  to  be 
promulgated  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  all  who  have  seen 
them  unite  in  the  opinion  that  they  are  the  most  comprehensive 
rules  yet  prepared.  In  addition  to  the  services  of  its  own  tech- 
nical  committee  on  engineering,  the  Bureau  has  had  the   coopera- 

—  131  — 


F5f 


■£X 

XT 


XX 

T7 


XX 

T7 


XX 

Y7 


XX  XX 


XT 


XT 


xx 


Fel 


rx  xx 


\7 


Y7 


RFRFR51F 


u 


w 


\T 


^* 


V7 


XX 

T7 


A 


.£X 


\T^ 


tion   and    advice   of   a    committee    of    engine   manufacturers    repre- 
sentative of  the  industry  in  this  country. 

The  Bureau's  policy  will  be  conservatively  to  modernize  or 
amend  its  rules  from  time  to  time  to  keep  pace  with  scientific 
advancement  in  the  art  of  ship  and  engine  building,  or  to  recognize 
and  give  the  advantages  of  classification  to  those  branches  of 
marine  construction  which  hitherto  has,  in  a  manner,  been  sub- 
ordinated or  ignored  by  the  recognized  classification  societies.  An 
important  field  of  this  kind  is  believed  to  be  the  standardization  of 
rules  governing  the  construction  and  equipment  of  the  various 
t}rpes  of  harbor  and  river  craft,  such  as  barges,  tugboats,  railroad 
floats,  river  steamboats,  both  passenger  and  freight,  etc.,  and  the 
Bureau  will  shortly  undertake  to  prepare  some  special  rules  to 
encourage  this  type  of  classification.  Marine  insurance  under- 
writers of  great  experience  believe  that  such  procedure  would  be 
of  benefit  in  eventually  reducing  insurance  rates  on  this  class  of 
risks. 


132  — 


THE  UNITE®  STATES 
SHIP  OPERATORS  ASSOCIATION 

By  Chas.  H.  Potter. 

THE  SHIPPING  BOARD,  hampered  by  lack  of  tradition  and 
of  shipping  policies  developed  during  long  years  of  experi- 
ence, was  confronted  with  the  question  of  disposal  or  opera- 
tion of  an  unprecedented  amount  of  tonnage.  In  seeking  the  solu- 
tion of  this  problem — the  establishment  of  a  sound  national  ship- 
ping policy — the  Board  was  greatly  embarrassed  and  hindered  in 
its  work  by  the  various  and  often  conflicting  recommendations  and 
criticisms  with  which  it  was  overwhelmed  by  commercial  and  politi- 
cal interests  scattered  throughout  the  country. 

During  this  period  the  American  Steamship  Owners'  Associa- 
tion was  playing  its  full  part  in  endeavoring  to  shape  the  future  of 
our  Merchant  Marine.  But  its  efforts  were  seriously  handicapped 
by  the  fact  that  it  represented  and  controlled  only  the  owners  of 
tonnage  while  numerous  non-owning  shipping  companies  which  had 
been  in  business  for  many  years,  together  with  others  operating 
Shipping  Board  tonnage  which  had  come  into  existence  since  1915 
and  which  were  entitled  and  destined  to  play  their  part  in  the  future 
of  the  Merchant  Marine  of  this  country,  were  subject  to  no  guiding 
influence  and  were  without  any  group  protection. 

The  necessity  of  co-ordinating  these  new  interests  and  bringing 
them  under  the  guidance  of  a  common  organization  which  would 
not  only  protect  their  rights  and  concentrate  their  influence  and 
activities  behind  a  sound,  conservative  national  shipping  policy, 
brought  into  being  the  United  States  Ship  Operators'  Association 
which  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York 
in  October,  1919,  to  promote  and  advance  the  economical  man- 
agement and  operation  of  American  vessels,  government-owned  or 
otherwise ;  to  cooperate  with  the  United  States  Government  officials 
and  to  facilitate  the  administration  of  its  bureaus,  having  jurisdic- 
tion over  maritime  matters ;  to  work  for  the  improvement  of  laws, 
regulations  and  rulings  and  to  secure  uniformity  in  customs  and 
usages,  in  relation  thereto ;  to  diffuse  accurate  marine  information 
and  to  strengthen  and  enlarge  friendly  intercourse  between  men  en- 
gaged in  and  about  ships  and  shipping  to  the  end  that  the  Merchant 
Marine  of  the  United  States  may  attain  its  greatest  efficiency. 

The  United  States  Ship  Operators'  Association,  Inc.,  has  grown 
until  it  numbers  among  its  members  seventy  steamship  companies 
who  are  geographically  located  along  the  entire  seaboard  of  this 
country.  The  officers  for  1921  are:  Charles  H.  Potter,  of  New 
York,  President ;  0.  D.  Mallory,  of  New  York,  Vice-President ;  F. 

—  133  — 


RSel 


za 


XJ 


-e-e 


A 


T7 


A 


FS1 


T7 


IV 

V7 

Felt^ 


H.  Hasler,  of  New  York  City,  Secretary ;  Marcus  H.  Tracy,  of  New- 
York,  Treasurer;  Robert  Strange,  Counsel.  Owing  to  the  number 
and  location  of  the  members  from  Maine  to  California,  it  has  not 
been  practical  to  hold  frequent  meetings  of  all  the  members  and 
the  active  work  of  the  Association  has  developed  upon  the  Gov- 
erning Committee. 

The  members  of  the  Governing  Committee  are :  F.  E.  Hasler, 
Charles  T.  Megee,  C.  H.  Potter,  Marcus  H.  Tracy,  J.  T.  Lykes, 
Warren  A.  Blake,  Clifford  D.  Mallory,  Winchester  Noyes,  James 
Xunoz,  Matthew  Hale,  C.  H.  Callaghan,  Willis  D.  Benson,  H.  K. 
Nutting,  Charles  Yates  and  Albert  R.  Lafonta. 

Due  to  the  constantly  changing  relations  between  the  Shipping 
Board  and  the  Operators  of  Government  tonnage,  the  work  of  the 
representatives  of  this  Association  on  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Managing  Agents'  Agreement  with  the  United  States  Shipping 
Board,  has  been   of  the  utmost  importance. 

This  committee  grew  out  of  a  joint  endeavor  on  the  part  of  the 
American  Steamship  Owners'  Association  and  this  Association  to 
establish  a  medium  of  contact  between  the  operators  and  the  United 
States  Shipping  Board.  Through  this  committee  the  members  of 
the  Association  are  given  a  direct  approach  to  the  Shipping  Board 
for  all  interpretations,  recommendations  and  complaints.  Likewise 
it  is  a  source  from  which  the  members  will  be  kept  promptly  and 
accurately  advised  of  matters  pending  before  the  Board.  The  high- 
est commendation  of  the  work  of  this  Committee  is  the  recogni- 
tion it  has  received  from  the  Shipping  Board. 

The  establishment  of  a  sound  and  stable  American  Merchant 
Marine  in  which  its  members  will  be  co-builders  and  co-partners 
freed  from  unnecessary  and  unwise  supervision,  is  the  objective  of 
the  United  States  Ship  Operators'  Association. 


i& 

tt 

—  134  — 


TODD  SHI<PYS£R<DS   CORPORATION 

FROM  the  moment  ;i  ship  leaves  the  construction  way  it  is  sub- 
jected to  incessant  and  gigantic  strains.  Exerted  against  it  is 
every  force  of  nature.  No  fabric  of  man  is  required  to  meet 
more  severe  tests.  A  modern  maritime  nation  therefore  cannot  rest 
bv  merely  building  ships  ;  it  must  provide  adequate  facilities  for  the 
maintenance  of  its  argosies. 

Repair  and  re-fitting  today  demand  ability  to  perform  prodi- 
gious work  with  prodigious  speed.  The  loss  on  an  inactive  ship  is 
tremendous  and  every  hour  spent  in  a  repair  yard  counts.  A  mod- 
ern ship-repair  plant  must  be  able  to  accommodate  every  ship  in- 
stantly and  to  begin  work  on  it  instantly  with  every  resource  of 
power — brain  power,  tool  power,  shop  power,  and  the  power  to 
command  material  and  supplies. 

America  is  exceptionally  fortunate  in  its  ambition  for  maritime 
supremacy  in  having  within  its  harbors  the  greatest  ship-repair 
organization  in  the  world ;  the  Todd  Shipyards  Corporation.  The 
Todd  organization  has  attained  this  enviable  international  distinc- 
tion by  its  ever-ready  ability  to  handle  any  class  of  repair  job 
offered,  big  or  little,  with  thoroughness  and  despatch. 

During  the  great  World  War  when  the  never-ending  cry  was 
"Ships,  ships,  give  us  ships,"  and  every  American  yard  was  taxed 
to  its  very  utmost  capacity,  the  great  Todd  organization  functioned 
smoothly  and  efficiently  and  when  a  job  came  into  any  one  of  its 
yards  under  seemingly  impossible  completion  conditions  it  was  done, 
and  done  on  time.  Like  President  Grant,  "Bill"  Todd,  as  he  is 
known  throughout  the  shipping  world,  believes  the  way  to  do  a 
thing  is  to  do  it.  When  Grant  ordered  resumption  of  specie  pay- 
ments all  the  great  financiers  of  his  day  raised  their  voices  in  holy 
horror  and  said  it  would  bankrupt  the  nation ;  that  it  was  an  im- 
possible thing  to  do.  They  asked  him  how  specie  payments  could 
be  resumed  with  practically  no  specie  to  resume  with.  He  said, 
"Gentlemen,  the  way  to  resume  is  to  resume.  We  have  resumed." 
So  it  is  with  William  H.  Todd,  the  guiding  genius  of  the  Todd  Cor- 
poration.    When  a  thing  needs  to  be  done  it  is  done. 

The  organization  which  has  been  brought  to  such  a  high  state 
of  efficiency  by  Mr.  Todd  is  a  federation  of  expert  men  and  great 
plants  for  united  application  of  the  best  modern  industrial  practice 
to  every  kind  of  shipwork  from  construction  to  interior  decoration. 
It  is  equipped  to  build  any  vessel  from  ocean  liner  or  warship  to  river 
barge.  It  possesses  unsurpassed  facilities  for  repair,  remodelling, 
lengthening  and  refitting  of  ships  of  any  character  and  for  any 
service.  Tt  has  made  world  records  in  the  handling  of  the  biggest 
repair  jobs  thfit  have  ever  been  sent  to  American  yards. 

—  135  — 


WILLIAM  H.  TODD 


T7 


^x. 


\/ 


^ 


,.  .. 


V7 


\l 


j=x 
XT 


r6i 


^ 


XT 


XT 


W 


VZJGZ 


/  . 


^cx 


tr 


W 

W 

Xf 

/  ., 


<  / 


The  main  offices  of  flic  Corporation  are  at  25  Broadway,  New 
York  City,  from  where  the  activities  of  its  nine  plant  units  are 
directed;  six  on  the  Atlantic,  two  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and  one  in 
England.  The  Robins  Dry  Dock  and  Repair  Co.,  the  Tietjen  & 
Lang  Dry  Dock  Co.,  the  Tebo  Yacht  Basin  Co.,  the  Clinton  Dry 
Docks,  Inc.,  The  Erie  Basin  Towing  &  Hoisting  Co.,  and  the  White 
Fuel  Oil  Engineering  Corporation  are  the  Atlantic  coast  plants 
located  on  the  waters  of  New  York  harbor.  The  Todd  Dry  Dock 
&  Construction  Corporation  of  Tacoma,  Wash.,  and  the  Todd  Dry 
Docks,  Inc.,  of  Seattle,  Wash.,  are  the  Pacific  coast  plants  and 
Todd  Oil  Burners  of  London,  England,  is  the  new  subsidiary  across 
the  sea. 

The  united  resources  of  the  yards  and  plants  of  the  corpora- 
tion comprise  more  than  200  acres  of  land  and  service  area.  There 
are  two  graving  docks,  twenty-one  floating  dry  docks,  twelve  ship- 
building ways,  twenty-five  piers,  one  hundred  and  ten  shops,  eight 
power  plants,  ten  service  vessel  and  seventeen  thousand  employees. 

Co-operation  binds  all  the  organizations,  yards  and  plants  of 
the  Corporation  into  one  powerful  whole  which  is  at  any  moment 
capable  of  concentrated  effort.  In  all  other  respects,  however,  each 
organization  is  an  independent  unit  for  itself,  with  its  individual 
prestige  to  maintain.  This  makes  for  exceedingly  sharp  competi- 
tion between  them  all  for  achievement,  efficiency,  speed  and  econ- 
omy ;  but  there  is  free  interchange  of  knowledge  and  experience, 
mutual  enjoyment  of  inventions  and  improvements  and,  when  nec- 
essary, exchange  of  resources. 

Each  plant  is  not  only  a  unit  in  itself,  but  the  unit  principle  is 
so  applied  that  every  vessel  obtains  unit  treatment  precisely  as  if  it 
were  the  only  vessel  in  a  yard  devoted  entirely  to  it.  This  concen- 
trated individual  attention  is  made  possible  by  ample  berthing  spaces 
and  dockage  capacities,  an  abundance  of  experienced  workers,  and 
every  modern  facility  for  applying  power  in  all  its  forms  directly  to 
every  ship.  The  combined  capacity  and  resources  of  the  Corpora- 
tion permit  the  handling  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  ships 
at  once  under  this  concentrated  unit  plan  of  operation. 

There  is  also  still  another  feature  of  the  Todd  system  that  has 
contributed  in  no  small  measure  to  the  exceptional  efficiency  of  the 
organization  and  that  is  the  ample  provision  made  for  the  care  and 
comfort  of  Todd  employees.  In  each  yard  a  "safety"  engineer  sys- 
tematically and  continuously  conducts  an  educational  campaign  to 
interest  the  men  in  "Safety  First"  measures.  Bulletins,  graphically 
descriptive  of  the  right  and  the  wrong  way  of  using  tools,  are  posted 
in  prominent  places  throughout  each  plant.     Monthly  tables  show- 


\fj 

if 

W 

MM 


xfxj* 

HEH 


V7 


V7 


XJ 


XJ 


jC\ 


XJ 


/z\ 


XJ 


£X 


XJ 


jz\ 


XJ 


XJ 


M 


ing  the  percentage  of  accidents  reported  from  each  department  dur- 
ing the  month  with  short  articles  showing  how  many  of  them  could 
have  been  averted  are  published  in  the  house  magazine,  The  Keel. 
The  results  of  this  work  are  highly  satisfactory.  The  reports  of  the 
safety  engineers  each  month  show  a  steady  decrease  in  the  number 
of  avoidable  accidents  and  carelessness  has  been  eliminated  to  a 
remarkable  degree. 

Each  of  the  plant  units  also  possesses  a  fully  equipped  emer- 
gency hospital,  attended  by  a  competent  surgeon  and  a  staff  of 
graduate  nurses.  So  long  as  men  are  at  work  in  the  yards  or  shops, 
whether  during  regular  hours  or  overtime,  the  hospitals  are  kept 
open  in  all  departments.  The  efficient  functioning  of  these  hos- 
pital units  has  saved  many  lives.  Each  of  the  hospitals  are 
equipped  with  the  most  modern  surgical  and  medical  appliances. 
The  equipment  includes  the  latest  X-ray  and  fluroscopic  apparatus, 
electrical  apparatus  for  administering  d'Arsonval,  thermofardic  and 
sinusoidal  electricity,  magnets  for  the  removal  of  steel  from  the  eye, 
pulmotors,  as  well  as  the  necessary  instruments  for  all  minor  opera- 
tions and  for  emergency  major  operations. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  "all  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a 
dull  boy,"  the  executives  of  the  Corporation  encouraged  and  aided 
in  every  way  possible  the  formation  and  activities  of  the  Todd 
Shipyards  Athletic  Association.  As  members  of  the  Association, 
Todd  employees  have  won  high  places  in  track  and  field  events  of 
every  nature ;  baseball,  bowling,  basket-ball  and  soccer  football. 
Both  the  teams  of  the  Robins  Dry  Dock  and  Repair  Co.  and  the 
Tebo  Yacht  Basin  Company  have  won  the  championships  of  many 
of  the  leagues  and  their  fame  is  known  to  every  amateur  fan  in  the 
country. 

In  the  foregoing  paragraphs  the  writer  has  endeavored  to  briefly 
portray  the  physical  properties  of  a  great  commercial  organization 
from  the  viewpoint  and  observations  of  one  who  has  piloted  many 
of  its  products  in  and  out  of  New  York  harbor.  From  the  same 
viewpoint  the  writer  is  prompted  to  say  in  closing  that  in  a  gen- 
eral survey  of  the  accomplishments  of  the  Todd  Corporation ;  of 
the  extraordinary  tasks  the  burdens  of  commerce  and  the  fortunes 
of  war  have  from  time  to  time  assigned  to  it ;  of  the  masterly  man- 
ner in  which  such  tasks  were  executed ;  of  the  technical  and  mechani- 
cal ability  the  stress  of  need  brought  out  in  its  organization  ;  and  of 
the  brilliant  feats  accomplished  in  the  face  of  overwhelming  odds, 
the  observer  is  given  abundant  reason  for  believing  that  the  Todd 
Shipyards  Corporation  will  ever  be  one  of,  if  not  the  greatest, 
factor  in  restoring  and  maintaining  the  Stars  and  Stripes  supreme 


on  iho  great  highways  of  the  sea. 


138  — 


ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH  OF  THE 
CUNARD  LINE 

A  NAME  well  known  and  honored  wherever  .steamships  float  is 
that  of  Samuel  Cunard,  founder  of  the  Cunard  Line  and  pio- 
neer of  the  Atlantic  ferry.  He  was  born  in  Canada  in  1787 
and  Avas  the  son  of  an  American  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  who  had 
settled  in  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia. 

In  the  course  of  years,  Mr.  Cunard  became  a  leading  merchant 
and  shipowner  in  Halifax.  He  had  been  engaged  in  carrying  on  the 
mail  service  between  Boston,  Newfoundland  and  Bermuda  and  was 
among  the  earliest  to  recognize  the  advantages  possessed  by  steamers 
•over  sailing  vessels  for  regularity  of  schedule. 

For  some  time  he  had  pondered  over  developing  a  regular  serv- 
ice of  steamers  between  England  and  America.  The  mails  for  the 
United  States  were  being  sent  over  in  sailing  vessels  and  during  the 
year  1838  the  British  Government  had  sent  circulars  broadcast  in- 
viting bids  for  a  faster  and  more  reliable  means  of  transit  for  postal 
matter  by  steam  vessels.  One  of  these  circulars  found  its  way  into 
the  hands  of  Samuel  Cunard  and  he  immediately  concluded  that  here 
was  a  golden  opportunity  to  carry  out  his  project  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  British  Government. 

Unable  to  raise  the  necessary  capital  in  Halifax,  where  the  mer- 
chants did  not  look  with  favor  on  his  scheme,  Mr.  Cunard  sailed  for 
England,  resolved  to  raise  sufficient  capital  to  put  his  ideas  into 
practice.  He  was  now  fifty  years  old.  He  received  but  little  sym- 
pathy in  London,  but  he  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Mr.  Robert 
Napier,  a  shipbuilder  on  the  Clyde,  so  he  went  to  Glasgow.  Mr. 
Napier  welcomed  Mr.  Cunard,  and  introduced  him  to  the  two  ablest 
shipping  men  in  Great  Britain — Mr.  George  Burns  of  Glasgow  and 
Mr.  David  Maclver  of  Liverpool,  both  of  whom  were  engaged  in  the 
-coasting  trade  between  England,  Ireland  and  Scotland.  Between 
these  three  men  the  necessary  capital — £270,000 — was  subscribed 
for  and  Mr.  Cunard  was  in  a  position  to  submit  to  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Admiralty  (who  at  that  time  were  invested  with  the 
disposal  of  postal  contracts)  a  tender  for  the  conveyance  of  mails 
■once  every  two  weeks  between  Liverpool,  Halifax  and  Boston  for  an 
annual  subsidy  of  £60,000  per  annum. 

This  tender  was  lower  than  that  made  by  the  owners  of  the 
steamship  "Great  Western,"  Mr.  Cunard's  principal  rival,  and  was 
accepted  by  the  Admiralty  and  a  contract  for  seven  years  was  con- 
cluded between  the  British  Government  and  the  North  American 
Steam  Packet  Company,  which  was  the  original  name  of  the  Cunard 
Line.  Mr.  Cunard  opened  an  office  in  London,  Mr.  Burns  presided 
at  the  headquarters  of  the  company  in  Glasgow  and  Mr.  Maclver 
remained  in  Liverpool  to  prepare  for  the  inauguration  of  the  service. 

—  139  — 


w 

-w> 

z 

=0 

KH 

O 

■^ 

i» 

i— i 

05 

Q 

i^ 

tf 

-* 

5D 

<5 

Z 

^?- 

£> 

«K, 

o 

O 

■TS 

w 

ga 

E 

Q 

H 

Cj 

O 

U< 

r-o 

O 

#*< 

5J 

i— i 

£ 

< 

OS 

f-H 

=c 

i— I 

D 

C5 

c 

s 

< 

a 

!/) 

Cr< 

^ 

cc 

M 

*S 

&i 

/-A 

"u* 

w 

"w* 

ij'ij' 

w 

L  /1 

^ 

u 

\  /' 


T7 


/  ., 

/ 


res 


^ 


To  carry  on  this  trade  four  steamers,  the  "Britannia"  (launched 
February  5th,  1840),  "Acadia,"  "Columbia"  and  Caledonia,"  were 
built  of  wood  by  Robert  Duncan  &  Co.,  and  other  shipbuilders  at 
Port  Glasgow,  each  being  207  feet  long,  34.4  feet  broad,  22.4  feet 
deep,  and  of  1,154  gross  tons.  Each  had  an  indicated  horse  power 
of  740,  a  cargo  capacity  of  225  tons,  and  accommodations  for  115 
cabin  passengers.  The  average  speed  was  8.5  knots  on  a  coal  con- 
sumption of  38  tons  per  day.  All,  of  course,  were  paddlewheelers 
and  they  were  the  first  passenger  steamers  to  make  regular  sailings 
across  the  Atlantic. 

The  first  voyage  of  the  "Britannia,"  the  pioneer  vessel  of  the 
Cunard  fleet  in  1840,  deserves  to  rank  not  only  as  one  of  the  great 
events  of  the  last  century,  but  as  one  of  the  epoch-marking  incidents 
in  the  history  of  civilization.  It  signalized  the  dawn  of  that  organ- 
ized ocean  travel  of  which  there  have  since  been  such  mighty  develop- 
ments. Rather  more  than  a  score  of  years  previously  the  "Savan- 
nah," built  in  New  York  City,  a  steamship  of  350  tons,  was  the  first 
steam  vessel  to  cross  the  Atlantic,  sailing  from  Savannah  May  25, 
1819,  for  Liverpool,  and  arriving  there  June  29th,  after  a  passage 
of  35  days.  She  did  not  rely  solely  upon  her  paddlewheels ;  in  fact, 
she  trusted  more  to  her  sails,  being  under  steam  for  less  than  100 
hours.  In  1831  the  "First  Royal  William"  made  the  entire  voyage 
under  steam. 

No  further  steam  venture  was  made  until  the  4th  of  April,  1838, 
when  the  "Sirius"  left  London  for  New  York  with  94  passengers 
aboard,  and  she  was  followed  from  Bristol  four  days  later  by  the 
more  historic  "Great  Western" — the  first  steam  vessel  specially  built 
for  the  Atlantic  passage.  The  "Great  Western"  made  the  trip  in 
15  days,  two  da}'s  less  than  the  "Sirius,"  and  with  200  tons  of  coal 
still  left  in  her  bunkers.  This  result  was  regarded  as  wonderful. 
The  scientific  men  of  the  time  had  "proved"  to  the  satisfaction  of 
most  of  the  world  that  no  steamer  could  carry  coal  enough  to  feed 
her  fires  for  a  single  trip  across  the  Atlantic. 

The  "Britannia,"  with  64  passengers  aboard,  started  on  her 
maiden  voyage  from  Liverpool  to  Boston  on  the  4th  of  July,  1840, 
the  celebration  day  of  American  Independence,  in  the  presence  of  an 
immense  assembly,  and  on  her  arrival  in  America  14  days  and  8 
hours  later,  including  a  stop  at  Halifax — then  considered  a  rapid 
passage — she  was  the  object  of  an  unprecedented  ovation  from  the 
inhabitants  of  Boston,  culminating  in  a  magnificent  public  banquet 
at  which  their  enthusiasm  found  vent  in  speeches  of  a  most  compli- 
mentary nature.      Mr.   Cunard,   who  accompanied  the  "Britannia" 


141 


«■ 


w 


/Zv 


W 


^\ 


XT 


XT 


Msm 


W 

/ZX 


XT 


/Z\ 


XT 


^\\^\\^\\^Ji\. 


on  her  maiden  trip,  was  made  the  hero  of  the  day,  receiving  as  many 
as  1,800  invitations  to  dinner  within  twenty-four  hours  after  land- 
ing. 

Later — in  the  very  severe  winter  of  1844 — the  merchants  of 
Boston  gave  practical  proof  of  their  good  will  when  the  "Britannia" 
was  icebound  in  the  harbor  and  the  mails  imprisoned.  At  their  own- 
expense  they  liberated  the  ship  by  cutting  a  canal  in  the  ice  seven 
miles  long  and  100  feet  wide.  The  "Britannia,"  released  from  her 
bonds,  reached  Liverpool  in  15  days.  When  the  British  Post  Office 
Department  offered  to  defray  the  expense  of  the  cutting  of  the  ice 
channel,  the  citizens  of  Boston  declined  to  be  reimbursed. 

The  mail  service  was  carried  on  with  conspicuous  regularity  for 
three  years  when  it  was  found  that  additional  tonnage  was  neces- 
sary. The  "Hibernia"  was  added  to  the  fleet  in  1843  and  the  "Cam- 
bria" in  1845.  In  1847,  when  the  Company's  first  mail  contract  had 
expired,  the  commercial  relations  between  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  the  British  Government  de- 
cided to  double  the  Atlantic  mail  service.  A  new  contract  was 
entered  into  with  the  Cunard  Line  providing  for  weekly  sailings  from 
Liverpool  to  New  York  and  Boston  alternately,  the  Boston  steamer 
touching  at  Halifax,  and  the  subsidy  was  raised  to  £173,340  per 
annum.     This  contract  covered  twenty  years — until  1867. 

For  the  adequate  accomplishment  of  this  important  agreement 
four  new  ships  were  built — the  "America,"  "Niagara,"  "Canada" 
and  "Europa" — and  took  their  places  in  the  service  early  in  1848, 
being  followed  in  1850  by  the  "Asia"  and  "Africa"  and  in  1852  by 
the  "Arabia."  Each  was  built  of  wood,  of  improved  designs,  as 
experience  pointed  out,  but  with  no  radical  departures  from  the 
"Britannia"  until  the  year  1856,  when  the  "Persia,"  the  first  iron 
steamer  owned  by  the  line,  was  put  into  service  to  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  sea,  which  was  now  being  contested  by  other  lines,, 
notably  the  Collins  Line,  organized  in  1848  by  merchants  of  New 
York,  Boston  and  other  American  ports,  and  heavily  subsidized  by 
the  United  States  government. 

The  Collins  Line  vessels  entered  the  Atlantic  ferry  in  1849  and 
were  first  class  in  every  way,  having  been  constructed  in  New  York 
City  with  a  view  to  eclipse  those  of  the  Cunard  Line,  and  keen  riv- 
alry existed  between  the  two  companies.  The  struggle  was  a  fierce 
one  while  it  lasted.  The  Cunard  Line  would  sacrifice  nothing  that 
was  calculated  to  prejudice  the  safety  of  their  ships  or  the  lives 
of  their  passengers.  New  and  better  ships  were  added.  Freight  and 
passenger  rates  were  enormously  reduced  and  the  competition  for 
public  favor  became  intensely  exciting.     This  contest  lasted  for  four 


—  142  — 


u 

\J 

"0" 

\  /' 

^ 

,  / 

*\J" 

"0* 

,r\. 

/~\ 

r\ 

-6"6"6' 

\J 

\J 

j ears  when  the  "Arctic"  of  the  Collins  Line  was  run  into  by  a  small 
French  steamer  off  Cape  Race  in  a  dense  fog  and  sunk  with  a  loss  of 
322  lives,  among  whom  were  the  wife,  son  and  daughter  of  Mr.  E.  K. 
Collins,  the  managing  director  and  promotor  of  the  line. 

Two  years  later  another  great  disaster  befell  the  company  in  the 
loss  of  the  "Pacific,"  which  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  June  29th, 
1856,  and  was  never  heard  of  again.  The  United  States  Govern- 
ment refused  to  continue  the  subsidy  and  the  Collins  Line  with- 
drew from  the  Atlantic  in  1858. 

The  "Scotia,"  the  last  of  the  paddlewheel  type  and  the  finest 
specimen  of  the  mercantile  marine  of  the  period,  and  a  sister  ship  to 
the  "Persia,"  came  out  in  1862.  For  }Tears  these  two  ships  were 
the  most  popular  on  the  seas,  conducting  the  first  express  service 
across  the  Atlantic,  and  getting  a  higher  rate  of  fare  than  other 
ships.  The  "Scotia"  held  the  world's  record  for  the  time — from 
Liverpool  to  New  York  in  8  days  and  22  hours. 

So  far  the  Cunard  Company,  the  progress  of  which  is  virtually 
a  history  of  modern  shipping,  had  in  deference  to  the  preferences  of 
most  travelers  at  that  time,  adhered  to  paddlewheel  propulsion,  but 
the  officials  of  the  company  were  nevertheless  convinced  of  the 
superiority  of  the  screw  propeller,  which  marine  engineers  had  long 
been  actively  advocating.  The  line  had  been  using  screw  steamers 
in  the  Mediterranean  service  and  the  Inman  Line  had  already  intro- 
duced the  screw  system  in  their  Atlantic  service.  In  1862  the 
Cunard  Line  decided  for  the  future  to  adopt  the  screw  and  the 
"China"  was  ordered,  her  length  being  326  feet ;  breadth,  40M>  feet ; 
tonnage,  2,539;  indicated  horse  power,  2,250;  average  speed,  13.9 
knots. 

Having  adequately  fulfilled  the  expectations  of  her  owners  and 
builder,  the  "China"  was  followed  in  1865  by  the  "Java,"  and  two 
years  later  by  the  "Russia,"  the  latter  steamer  generally  regarded 
as  the  most  beautiful  ocean-going  vessel  then  in  existence.  Her 
graceful  proportions  were  regarded  by  practical  men  as  the  acme 
of  nautical  symmetry,  and  the  beauty  of  her  decorations  and  com- 
pleteness of  her  equipment  were  the  delight  of  passengers.  She 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  flyers  of  her  day,  crossing  from  New  York 
to  Queenstown  in  8  days  and  28  minutes.  She  was  358  feet  long 
and  of  2,960  gross  tons.  She  consumed  90  tons  of  coal  per  day, 
compared  with  the  159  tons  consumed  by  the  "Scotia"  to  attain  the 
same  speed.  She  had  accommodation  for  235  cabin  passengers  and 
a  cargo  capacity  of  1,260  tons.  Her  commander,  Captain  Cook, 
navigated  her  no  less  than  630,000  miles  without  a  single  mishap  or 
casualty  of  any  kind,  carrying  the  while  26,075  cabin  passengers^ 


143  — 


"w" 

u 

-  . 

"6- 

^ 

-6- 

-6- 

V7 

-6- 

^ 

Q\ 

fa 

W 

V7 

VJ 

The  company's  postal  contract  with  the  Admiralty  expired  on 
Dec.  31,  1867,  and  a  new  contract  for  one  year  was  entered  into 
with  the  Postmaster  General  (to  whose  department  the  arrangement 
of  carrying  mails  on  ocean  steamers  had  been  transferred)  whereby 
the  Cunard  Company  undertook  to  sail  a  vessel  from  Liverpool  to 
New  York  every  Saturday,  calling  at  Queenstown;  returning  from 
New  York  every  Wednesday  and  also  calling  at  Queenstown. 

Owing  to  the  competition  which  then  existed  for  the  carrying 
of  the  mails,  the  Post  Office  was  able  to  dictate  terms  for  the  service, 
and  accordingly  the  subsidy  allowed  was  only  £80,000.  That  sum 
was  further  reduced  to  £70,000  the  following  year  when  a  contract 
was  concluded  to  cover  seven  years,  binding  the  company  to  main- 
tain a  dual  weekly  service  from  Liverpool — sailing  to  Boston  every 
Tuesday  and  to  New  York  every  Saturday,  calling  at  Queenstown. 

It  was  found  that  the  amount  paid  for  the  service  was  mani- 
festly inadequate,  and  when  the  mail  contract  was  again  renewed 
in  January,  1877,  the  work  was  paid  for  in  accordance  with  the 
weight  of  the  mail  matter  carried. 

In  1870  the  company  adopted  the  compound  principle  for  their 
engines,  in  preference  to  the  old  side  lever  system.  The  "Parthia" 
was  the  first  vessel  of  the  line  fitted  with  compound  engines,  which, 
utilizing  steam  at  high  pressure,  gave  better  speed  results  than 
engines  of  the  old  type.  She  was  followed  by  the  "Bothnia"  and 
"Scythia"  (1879)  also  fitted  with  compound  engines.  The  newer 
existing  vessels  were  similarly  refitted.  The  "Gallia,"  launched  in 
1879,  and  the  last  iron  Cunarder  to  be  built,  was  fitted  with  three- 
crank  compound  engines. 

Thus  in  the  gradual  development  of  this  line  may  be  traced  the 
progress  of  the  shipping  industry  in  general,  and  in  the  substitution 
of  new  ships  of  superior  types  the  advance  of  science  in  relation  to 
the  steamship  and  marine  steam  engine  may  be  closely  followed. 
The  same  spirit  of  progress  prevails  in  the  company  today.  Thus 
all  new  steamers  burn  oil  fuel,  and  big  ones  like  the  "Aquitania," 
"Berengaria"  and  "Mauretania"  originally  built  to  burn  coal,  have 
been  converted  into  oil  burners. 

The  company's  first  steel  liner,  the  "Servia,"  built  in  1881,  was 
practically  the  pioneer  of  what  may  be  called  the  Express  Trans- 
atlantic Service,  as  owing  to  the  immense  space  required  for  the 
powerful  machinery  necessary  for  the  high  speed  beginning  to  pre- 
vail, but  little  room  was  left  for  cargo.  She  was  the  first  Cunarder 
to  receive  an  electric  installation.  Her  gross  register  was  7,392 
tons  and  with  her  speed  of  16.7  knots  she  reduced  the  Atlantic  pass- 


—  144  — 


THE  CUNARD  BUILDING 
25  Broadway,  New  York  City 


£\ 


T7 


XJ 


XJ 


MM 


"0* 

"0* 

-6- 

«- 

w 

^ 

^ 

v3> 

^ 

^& 

w 

age  to  7  days  1  hour  and  38  minutes.  She  was  superbly  fitted  for 
those  days  and  provided  accommodation  for  4-80  cabin  and  750 
third  class  passengers. 

In  1884  the  "Oregon,"  built  for  another  Atlantic  line,  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Cunard  Company.  She  attained  a  speed  of  18  knots 
and  was  famed  as  the  "Greyhound  of  the  Atlantic."  This  sensa- 
tional result  led  the  directors  of  the  company  to  order  from  the 
same  builders  two  new  vessels  of  greater  power  and  speed — the 
"Umbria"  and  "Etruria."  These  two  were,  in  their  day,  the  fastest 
ships  afloat,  attaining  a  speed  of  20  knots.  The  "Etruria"  held 
the  Atlantic  speed  record  for  some  time — accomplishing  the  west- 
tern  passage  in  5  days  20  hours  and  55  minutes,  and  the  eastern 
passage  in  6  days  37  minutes.  She  was  500  feet  long,  with  a  gross 
tonnage  of  8,110. 

The  "Campania"  and  "Lucania"  (1893)  were  also  blue  ribbon 
winners.  These  beautiful  ships  were  each  625  feet  long,  65.3  feet 
broad,  43  feet  deep  and  with  a  gross  tonnage  of  12,950.  Their  aver- 
age speed  was  22  knots  an  hour.  The  "Campania's"  fastest  pass- 
age between  Queenstown  and  New  York  was  5  days  9  hours  6  min- 
utes. The  "Lucania"  had)  a  slight  advantage  over  her  sister  vessel 
for  speed,  her  fastest  voyages  being :  Westward,  5  days  7  hours  and 
23  minutes ;  eastward,  5  days  8  hours  and  38  minutes.  It  was  on 
the  "Lucania"  that  Mr.  William  Marconi  personally  experimented 
with  and  introduced  wireless  telegraphy.  Now  his  system  supplies 
news  for  use  in  the  "Cunard  Daily  Bulletin,"  published  at  sea  on  all 
Cunarders. 

The  "Caronia"  and  "Carmania" — two  ships  beloved  by  the  regu- 
lar traveler — marked  a  distinct  development  in  the  liners  fitted  with 
luxurious  accommodations  for  large  numbers  of  passengers  and  also 
large  cargo  carrying  capacity.  These  great  steamers  are  675  feet 
long  and  of  20,000  gross  tons.  They  are  sisters  in  every  way  but 
one — the  "Caronia"  is  propelled  by  engines  of  the  reciprocating 
type  driving  twin  screws,  while  the  propulsive  power  of  the  "Car- 
mania"  is  derived  from  turbine  engines  whose  force  is  distributed 
through  three  shafts,  each  of  which  drives  one  propeller.  The 
"Carmania"  was  the  first  of  the  company's  turbine  liners. 

The  Cunard  Line  has  always  had  to  cope  with  strong  opposition 
in  its  efforts  to  hold  the  blue  ribbon  of  the  sea.  This  was  lost  to 
the  "Deutschland"  of  the  Hamburg-American  Line  in  1900.  This 
ship  had  a  speed  of  23 V^  knots.  Two  years  later  this  steamer  lost 
to  the  "Kaiser  Wilhelm  II"  of  the  North  German  Lloyd,  whose  rec- 
ord was  a  fraction  faster  than  that  of  the  "Deutschland."  The 
Cunard  Line  then  decided  to  regain  the  speed  supremacy  which  it 


146 


1  \ 

\  I 


/-\ 


XT 


£\ 


\  / 


i  \ 


XT 


XJ 


\xtW\ 


XT 


'  f 


u 

V7 

/ 

v/ 


^ 


/-. 


u* 


had  held  for  so  many  years  and  j)reparcd  the  plans  for  the  "Lusi- 
tania"  and  "Mauretania."  These  vessels,  were  each  790  feet  long 
and  with  a  tonnage  over  31,000,  the  greatest  ships  the  world  had 
yet  seen.  Attaining  a  speed  of  26  knots  per  hour,  the  blue  ribbon 
of  the  seas  passed  back  to  the  Cunard  Line  and  is  still  there.  The 
"Lusitania's"  best  time  westbound  was  4  days  and  15  hours.  The 
fastest  westward  run  of  the  "Mauretania"  was  4  days  10  hours  and 
41  minutes.  This  express  steamer  represents  all  that  is  superlative 
in  naval  architecture,  marine  engineering  and  luxurious  hotel  accom- 
modations. 

The  "wonder  ship,"  as  Lord  Northcliffe  calls  the  "Aquitania," 
entered  the  Cunard  Service  in  1914.  She  combined  in  her  design 
and  construction  the  result  of  the  experience  and  valuable  informa- 
tion deduced  from  the  construction  and  performance  of  tile  "Maure- 
tania" and  the  many  other  famous  ships  that  preceded  her  under 
the  Cunard  flag.  The  "Aquitania"  had  only  made  three  trips  to 
New  York  when  the  World  War  broke  out.  She  went  in  war  serv- 
ice, at  first  as  a  transport,  then  as  a  hospital  ship,  and  finally  as  a 
transport  again,  carrying  many  thousands  of  American  troops. 
In  1920  she  was  reconditioned  as  an  oil-burner  and  re-entered  the 
trans-Atlantic  service  as  its  foremost  passenger  carrier.  The 
"Aquitania"  is  901  feet  long,  97  feet  broad  and  92.6  feet  deep. 
Her  gross  tonnage  is  45,647  and  her  speed  23  knots.  Her  best 
time  between  New  York  and  Cherbourg  is  5  days,  11  hours  and  28 
minutes.  On  the  last  leg  of  a  voyage  to  Cherbourg  she  made  the 
record  of  27.40  knots  per  hour  for  three  hours.  This  is  equal  to  31 
land  miles.  She  has  accommodations  for  2,716  passengers  and  a 
crew  of  900.  The  first  and  most  obvious  thing  impressed  upon  the 
visitor  is  the  extraordinary  spaciousness  and  luxuriousness  of  her 
public  rooms,  comparing  favorably  with  the  highest  grade  metro- 
politan hotels. 

In  1921  the  "Berengaria,"  of  52,022  tons,  was  purchased  by  the 
Cunard  Company  and  converted  from  coal  to  oil  fuel.  Today  she  is 
the  largest  passenger  ship  in  commission.  This  year  also  marked 
the  entry  of  the  "Scythia"  into  the  company's  service.  This  ship 
is  600  feet  long  and  registers  20,000  tons.  Big  as  she  is,  she  carries 
but  one  funnel,  being  the  first  big  British  ship  to  be  originally  de- 
signed and  built  as  an  oil-burner.  Four  more  of  her  type  soon  to 
appear  in  the  sailing  list  are  the  "Samaria,"  "Franconia,"  "La- 
conia"  and  "Servia."  There  is  a  sixth  ship  which  closely  resembles 
this  type,  the  "Tyrrhenia,"  of  16,700  tons.     All  are  oil  burners. 

The  Cunard  Line's  Canadian  Service,  wiped  out  by  enemy  vessels 
during  the  war,  reopens  in  the  spring  of  1922  with  a  fleet  of  new  oil 


147  — 


w 

"0" 

\J 

-e- 

-6- 

^ 

-e- 

L  '"  x  J 

-6- 

-6- 

vj* 

-6- 

\J 

W 

W 

W 

burners  averaging  14,000  tons  each.  They  are  the  "Antonia," 
"Andania,"  "Alannia,"  "Ascania,"  "Aurania"  and  "Ausonia." 

The  well-known  care  and  strict  surveillance  exercised  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  vessels  of  the  Cunard  fleet  and  the  rigid  discipline 
maintained  in  every  department  of  its  service,  have  engendered  in 
the  public  mind  well-merited  confidence  and  gained  for  the  company 
a  prestige  unique  in  the  annals  of  shipping. 

The  Cunard  Line  has  now  over  a  million  tons  of  shipping. 


"BAKER,  CARVER  &  MORRELL 

THIS  firm  is  a  co-partnership,  composed  of  Joseph  B.  Morrell 
and  Amos  D.  Carver,  and  is  a  continuation  of  the  business  of 
Baker,  Carver  &  Co.,  who  succeeded  to  a  business  established  at 
29  South  Street  in  1827,  and  of  J.  B.  Morrell  &  Co.,  who  succeeded 
to  the  business  of  Watts,  Parker  &  Co.,  established  early  in  the  cen- 
tury at  27  Old  Slip,  Franklin  Market  and  75  Front  Street.  Mr. 
Morrell  joined  the  latter  firm  in  1875  and  in  1888  acquired  the 
business. 

Baker,  Carver  &  Morrell  was  formed  January  1,  1894,  by  the 
consolidation  of  Baker,  Carver  &  Co.  and  J.  B.  Morrell  &  Co.  The 
firm  was  then  composed  of  Howard  M.  Baker,  Capt.  George  A. 
Carver,  Joseph  B.  Morrell  and  Amos  D.  Carver.  Mr.  Baker  retired 
January  1,  1900,  and  Capt.  Carver  retired  January  1,  1901.  Their 
interests  were  bought  out  and  taken  over  by  the  present  firm. 

Mr.  Morrell  has  spent  43  years  in  the  business  and  has  made  it 
a  very  careful  study,  and  is  today,  perhaps,  the  best  informed  ship 
supply  merchant  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Carver  is  the  third  generation  of  his  family  actively  engaged 
in  this  line,  and  has  been  in  it  for  38  years,  and  brings  to  bear  a 
fitness,  not  only  ripened  by  long  experience,  but  by  an  expert  tech- 
nical knowledge  of  vessels  operations  generally. 

Compared  with  1894  the  business  of  the  firm  has  multiplied 
twenty  times.  Ninety-five  per  cent  of  a  vessel's  outfit  is  actually 
carried  in  stock  in  New  York  City  in  their  own  warehouses.  It  is  the 
aim  of  the  firm  to  always  carry  a  complete  stock. 

The  present  home  of  the  company  was  finished  in  1912  and 
occupied  April  9  of  that  year.  It  is  of  solid  steel  and  concrete  and 
is  fireproof.  It  was  built  specially  for  the  business  and  is  occupied 
exclusively  by  the  company. 

Mr.  Joseph  B.  Morrell  of  this  firm  is  a  member  of  the  board  of 
New  York  pilot  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

—  148  — 


FAMOUS  ROTUNDA  OF  THE  CUNARD  BUILDING 

Noted  for  the  surpassing  beauty  of  its  mural  decorations 


THE  INTERNATIONAL 
MERCANTILE  MARINE  COMPANY 

or  the  I.  JVL.  Jyl.,  as  it  is  fiofcularly  known,  is  the 
largest  American  Shifcfiing  Company. 


NOT    less    than    117    fine    ocean-going    steamships,    numbering 
the  largest  afloat,  the  Majestic,  56,000  tons,  are  included  in 
its   fleets.      The    aggregate   tonnage    of    sea-going    ships    en- 
gaged in   the   company's    operations   is    as    great    as    was    the   ton- 
nage of  the  entire  American  merchant  marine  registered   for   for- 
eign commerce  before  the  World  War,   or  nearly   1,285,000   tons. 

Today  the  sun  never  sets  on  I.  M.  M.  ships,  and  in  the  changing 
seasons  some  of  them  are  always  sailing  summer  seas.  Their  keels 
fret  every  sea,  and  their  flags  are  thrown  to  the  breeze  in  the  ports 
of  nearly  every  maritime  country  of  the  globe. 

While  the  great  liners  of  the  I.  M.  M.  fleets  are  maintaining 
express  passenger  services  with  clocklike  regularity  on  the  Atlantic 
ocean  ferry,  other  I.  M.  M.  ships  are  plying  to  far  distant  ports  in 
different  parts  of  the  world  with  passengers  or  freight,  or  both. 

The  I.  M.  M.  is  a  national  institution,  giving  service  to  the 
producers,  shippers  and  consumers  of  goods  in  every  section  of  the 
United  States.  Although  its  headquarters  are  in  New  York,  its 
ships  sail  from  all  the  principal  American  ports  on  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf.  Its  constituent  companies  number  some  of  the  strong- 
est and  oldest  under  the  American  flag. 

The  American  Line,  one  of  the  cornerstones  of  the  company,  is 
the  oldest  passenger  line  under  the  American  flag  engaged  in 
trans- Atlantic  trade.  Established  in  1871,  the  American  Line  for 
five  decades  has  sustained  the  honor  of  maintaining  the  American 
flag  in  the  North  Atlantic  passenger  trade,  most  of  the  time 
alone.  The  names  of  the  American  Line  ships  have  become  house- 
hold words  to  Americans  who  travel  by  sea. 

A  new  and  significant  activity  of  the  American  Line  was  inaug- 
urated in  December,  1919,  when  this  line  established  the  first  Ameri- 
can passenger  service  between  the  ports  of  New  York  and  Hamburg. 
The  ships  employed  in  it  are  American  built  and  American  manned. 
They  Ay  the  American  flag,  and  are  managed  by  Americans,  from 
I.  M.  M.  headquarters  at  New  York. 

The  passenger  ships  employed  in  opening  the  Hamburg  service 
of  the  American  Line  were  the  Mongolia  of  13,600  gross  tons  regis- 
ter, and  the  Manchuria,  a  sister  ship ;  and  several  large  and  modern 
freighters. 

—  150  — 


Oa 

J>Q 

ft! 

a 

Vi. 

e« 

0= 

«-♦. 

n 

*• 

<Q     O 

o 

&5      <^ 

&5        S- 

H 

TO 

X 

|   S 

H 

s~  -2 

$3    ~ 

3 

O 

^  Zs> 

w 

h- ( 

to    -* 

i— | 

W 

^3    t"< 

c« 

a    3 

TO      TO 

TO 

a.  s 

> 

3    «- 

2^ 

^  * 

H 

3  ^ 

^■»  • 

T 

H 

1  &! 

> 

£« 

r/2 

*e 

K 

&5 

i— i 

^  3- 

•-d 

<^5    TO 

is 

*©  s- 

O 

*-ta 

Oi 

OS 

Sa 

O 

O 

o 

^*» 

o 

3 

FBl^ 


JI\ 


u 


^cx.  j^\ 


a 


\j 


MX 

v7 


T7 


T7 


T7 


t7 


/C\ 


W 


-£X  -£X  -^-  ^X  -<rN.  -XX 


T7 


^Zi 


XT 


RFI 


One  of  the  strongest  commercial  ties  between  the  United  States 
and  Belgium,  long  before  these  two  countries  were  drawn  closely 
together  by  their  common  sympathies  in  the  great  war,  was  the 
direct  service  between  New  York  and  Antwerp  of  the  Red  Star  Line, 
one  of  the  operating  units  of  the  I.  M.  M. 

To  think  of  communication  between  the  United  States  and  the 
great  little  country  that  was  the  theater  of  the  most  tragic  scenes 
in  the  world's  greatest  war,  is  to  think  of  the  Red  Star  Line  and 
its  ships. 

Two  of  the  finest  of  these  ships,  flying  the  American  flag  are  the 
Finland  and  the  Kroonland.  These  vessels,  built  at  the  Cramp 
yards  in  Philadelphia,  embrace  in  their  design  all  the  good  points 
tested  by  years  of  service  in  the  ships  of  the  American  Line.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  other  ships  of  this  line,  Lapland  and  Zee- 
land,  some  of  which  fly  the  Belgian  flag,  and  others  the  British. 
The  management  of  the  fleet  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of  an  Ameri- 
can operating  staff. 

One  of  the  greatest  units  in  the  I.  M.  M.  is  the  famous  White 
Star  Line,  whose  ships  include  some  of  the  giants  of  the  deep. 
Heading  the  list  is  the  huge  Majestic  and  the  Olympic,  the  world's 
largest  oil-burning  vessels,  two  of  the  noblest  of  the  leviathans  that 
ply  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States.  These  big 
ships,  56,000  and  46,359  gross  tons,  are  956  and  882.5  feet  long 
respectively,  many  feet  longer  than  the  Woolworth  Tower  in  New 
York  is  high. 

In  beauty  and  strength,  as  well  as  in  size,  these  two  ships  rank 
among  the  greatest  modern  steamships. 

Several  other  great  vessels  of  the  White  Star  Line  are  also  of 
huge  proportions  and  magnificent  equipment.  These  include  the 
Homeric,  35,000  tons;  Baltic,  23,876  tons,  and.  the  Adriatic,  24,541 
tons,  the  Cedric  and  Celtic,  each  of  21,000  tons  and  the  Megantic 
of  14,878  tons. 

The  White  Star  service,  maintained  by  tliese  vessels,  has  been 
famous  in  the  Atlantic  passenger  trade  for  generations. 

Another  important  service  operated  by  the  I.  M.  M;  is  that  of 
the  Atlantic  Transport  Line  between  New  York  and  London. 

The  war  swept  away  some  of  the  finest  passenger  ships  of  this 
line,  but  the  Minnesota,  20,602  gross  tons,  the  largest  vessel  built 
in  an  American  shipyard,  was  spared.  Pending  the  addition  of 
new  tonnage  to  replace  lost  ships,  the  sailings  of  the  American 
Transport  Lines  are  confined  to  freight  vessels,  which  maintain  a 
sailing  every  week  between  London  and  New  York. 


152 


NUMBER   ONE    BROADWAY 

Adjoining  this  site  was  the  first  Dutch  fort  on  Manhattan  Island,  known  as  Fort 
New  Amsterdam.  The  first  house  was  erected  here  before  1661f.  In  1771  Captain 
Archibald  Kennedy  built  here  his  residence  which  was  used  in  1776  by  General 
Washington  as  his  headquarters  and  later  by  General  Hoxoe  during  the  British  occu- 
pation. It  was  later  used  as  a  hotel.  Torn  down  in  1882,  it  was  replaced  by  the 
Washington  building  which  was  transformed  in  1920-1921  into  this  building  for 
occupancy  by  its  otvners,  The  International  Mercantile  Marine  Company. 


aa 

AA 

AA 

r\ 

r\ 

AA 

u 

^ 

vfa 

VJ 

u 

aa 

AA 

aa 

AA 

AA 

B^S 

V7 

\J 

W 

\J 

\J 

\J 

\J 

vv 

W 

\J 

W 

Other  important  service  by  I.  M.  M.  lines  include  the  New  York- 
Azores-Mediterranean  passenger  line  sustained  by  vessels  of  the 
class  of  the  Cretic,  13,500  tons ;  the  Boston-Liverpool  passenger 
and  freight  service  of  the  Leyland  Line,  and  a  long  list  of  exclu- 
sively freight  services  from  other  American  ports.  In  the  develop- 
ment of  these  freight  services,  of  which  the  public  hears  relatively 
little,  the  I.  M.  M.  has  made  great  strides  in  recent  years  with  its 
American  ships.  Its  freight  sailings  are  frequent  from  the  chief 
ports  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts — Montreal,  Portland,  Boston, 
New  York,  Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Mobile,  Galveston,  New  Orleans — 
with  occasional  sailings  from  smaller  ports  such  as  Charleston  and 
Savannah.  The  company  maintains  offices  not  only  in  the  chief 
ports  mentioned,  for  handling  of  its  freight  and  passenger  busi- 
ness, but  also  in  San  Francisco,  Chicago,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul 
and  St.  Louis. 

The  vessels  of  the  I.  M.  M.  fleets  carried  more  than  one-quarter 
of  the  total  American  Expeditionary  Forces  across  the  seas,  or  a 
grand  total  of  521,913  men,  between  April,  1917,  and  November, 
1918.  Vessels  of  the  I.  M.  M.  fleets  also  transported  2,549  car- 
goes of  munitions  and  war  supplies,  a  grand  total  of  14,988,294 
tons. 

In  the  spring  of  1920  the  company  purchased  the  Washington 
Building,  known  as  Number  One  Broadway,  an  imposing  structure 
facing  Battery  Park,  and  proceeded  to  remodel  it  for  its  own  use. 


T7 


R51 


—  154 


A  PIONEER  IN  ITS  FIELD 

THE  STANDARD  OIL  COMPANY  OF  NEW  YORK  was  one 
of  the  first  concerns  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  engage  in  the 
transportation  of  petroleum  by  water  on  a  commercial  scale. 

The  first  lighterage  organization  was  formed  back  in  1884,  on 
October  third,  to  be  exact,  with  an  initial  equipment  that  consisted 
of  five  towboats  and  forty-six  barges.  These  vessels  were  operated 
in  and  around  New  York  harbor.  To  handle  the  constantly  in- 
creasing volume  of  business  that  the  intervening  years  have  brought, 
this  original  fleet  has  grown  into  one  that  includes,  today,  twenty- 
nine  towboats  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  barges  in  addi- 
tion to  a  large  number  of  tank  and  general  cargo  vessels,  all  of 
which  give  employment  to  approximately  twenty-eight  hundred  men. 

When  petroleum  first  began  to  be  transported  by  water  it  was 
shipped,  like  other  fluids,  in  barrels  and  cases,  the  average  capacity 
of  the  vessels  used  being  about  eight  thousand  barrels  and  requiring 
about  eight  days  to  load.  The  large  modern  tanker  of  today  was 
unknown  and  transportation  in  bulk  by  tankers  had  been  very  little 
developed  at  that,  time.  In  1885,  however,  an  important  step  for- 
ward was  made  in  the  water  transportation  of  petroleum.  The  ship- 
ment of  it  in  barrels  obviously  had  many  disadvantages.  Accord- 
ingly this  company  took  an  old  schooner,  the  "Amelia  G.  Ireland," 
and  remodeled  it  by  building  several  tanks  in  the  hold,  having  an 
aggregate  capacity  of  about  two  thousand  barrels.  This  was  the 
first  oil  barge  to  leave  New  York  harbor  and  for  several  years  plied 
between  New  York  and  Boston. 

During  the  next  decade  or  two  the  transportation  of  oil  in  these 
early  types  of  tankers  was  carried  oh  extensively  but  confined  almost 
entirely  to  coastwise  and  Mexican  voyages.  However,  in  the  latter 
part  of  1904  a  significant  undertaking  was  planned  which  was 
destined  to  rank  as  a  real  achievement  of  its  day.  On  December  16, 
the  S.  S.  Atlas  with  barge  No.  93  in  tow,  left  New  York  harbor 
bound  for  San  Francisco.  The  two  vessels  arrived  at  their  destina- 
tion February  27,  1905,  completing  what,  up  to  that  time,  was  the 
longest  tow  ever  made  of  an  oil  barge.  Considering  the  fact  that 
this  was  the  first  venture  of  its  kind  and  involved  a  passage  through 
the  Strait  of  Magellan,  the  time  made  was  indeed  creditable.  A  sim- 
ilar voyage  was  made  the  following  year,  the  S.  S.  Maverick  leaving 
New  York  on  October  12,  1906,  with  barge  No.  91  in  tow  and 
arriving  at  San  Francisco  January  2,  1907. 

In  the  meantime  another  long  towing  voyage  had  been  made 
which  was  of  no  little  importance.  In  order  to  demonstrate  the 
practicability  of  deep-sea  towing,  this  company  fitted  out  the  S.  S. 
Colonel  E.  L.  Drake  for  a  more  or  less  experimental  trip  to  Lon- 

—  155  — 


/3, 
XT 


XT 


XT 


XT 


XT 


£\ 


XT 


Si 


^ 


/a, 


XT 


V7 


/Z\ 


V7 


XT 


M&\ 


\  / 

u 

don.  This  vessel  left  New  York,  towing  barge  No.  95,  on  July  3, 
1905,  and  reached  London  seventeen  days  later.  After  a  stop  of 
five  days,  it  left  London  on  July  25th  destined  for  Port  Arthur, 
Texas,  where  it  arrived  August  18th.  Subsequently,  similar  tows 
have  been  made  around  the  world.  While  the  towing  of  oil  barges 
has  been  engaged  in  successfully  for  the  past  thirty  years,  the  mod- 
ern self-propelled  tanker  is  gradually  and  generally  superseding  this 
method  of  transportation.  A  recent  development  in  the  maritime 
activities  of  this  company  has  been  the  transportation  of  petroleum 
products  in  bulk  on  the  newly  opened  New  York  State  Barge  Canal 
by  means  of  motor  driven  barges.  After  some  improvements  were 
made  on  the  canal,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  York  was 
the  first  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  it  offered  compara- 
tively large-sized  barges.  The  operations  of  this  company  on  the 
canal  have  greatly  facilitated  the  distribution  of  petroleum  products 
in  bulk  throughout  the  middle,  western  and  Lake  Champlain  districts 
of  New  York  State.  At  the  present  time,  a  large  part  of  this  com- 
pany's marine  shipments  are  handled  by  the  Standard  Transporta- 
tion Company,  a  subsidiary  organization,  which  operates  a  large 
fleet  of  tank  steamers.  The  vessels  of  this  fleet  ply  between  various 
points  on  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  seaboard  and  the  Levant,  India, 
and  the  Far  East.  Large  volumes  of  the  multifarious  petroleum 
products  sold  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  York  are  trans- 
ported in  bulk  and  in  packages  by  the  up-to-date  vessels  of  the 
Standard  Transportation  Company. 

The  Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  York  feels  that  it  may  be 
pardoned  for  having  a  just  pride  in  the  share  it  has  had  in  the 
growth  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  It  offers  herewith  its  assurance 
of  continuous  interest  in  the  greater  development  that  the  future 
unquestionably  holds  for  it. 


fvfl 


X7 


—  156 


WORLDS  BIGGEST  OIL  FLEET 

TIIK  transportation  of  oil  products  by  water  is  perhaps  as  old 
as  the  history  of  water  transportation.     While  sailing  vessels 
were  first  converted  and  later  built  for  this  purpose,  the  first 
tank  steamer  was  built  in   1872.     The  development  of  this  method 
of    transportation    of    oil   in   bulk    from    that    time    to    the    modern 
20,000-ton   steel   tank   steamers   is   a   remarkable   achievement. 

The  earlier  construction  by  installation  of  tanks  was  subse- 
quently abandoned  because  it  was  found  that  evaporation  of  leak- 
age and  escaping  oil  filled  the  spaces  between  the  tanks  and  sides 
of  the  ships  with  explosive  gases,  which  made  this  transportation 
even  more  dangerous  than  carriage  by  means  of  barrels  and  cases. 
No  repairs  could  be  made  in  these  spaces,  no  naked  lights  used, 
and  the  insertion  of  hot  rivets  incident  to  repairs  was  out  of  the 
question  until  with  great  difficulty  the  gases  had  been  eliminated. 
This  resulted  in  the  use  of  the  vessel  itself  divided  thwartships  and 
longitudinally  into  a  series  of  tanks  to  contain  oil,  with  coffer- 
dams at  the  forward  and   after  ends   of  the   oil  spaces. 

Some  of  the  earlier  tankers  were  simply  cargo  vessels  con- 
verted by  erection  of  bulkheads  and  partitions,  which  permitted 
the  carrying  of  oil  in  the  holds.  On  these  vessels  the  propelling 
machinery  and  boilers  were  amidships,  but  later  more  satisfactory 
results  were  obtained,  with  minimized  risk  from  fire,  by  devoting 
the  entire  after  end  of  the  ship  to  boilers,  propelling  machinery 
and  quarters  for  the  engine  force.  Consequently  this  type  of 
tanker  construction  was   adopted  and   is   still   in   general  use. 

The  majority  of  converted  cargo  vessels  and  the  earlier  con- 
structed tankers  were  found  unsatisfactory.  As  oil  will  find  a 
leak  more  quickly  than  water,  closer  spacing  of  rivets  and  more 
careful  workmanship  is  necessary  to  insure  oil-tightness  than 
water-tightness.  This  has  developed  to  such  an  extent  that 
tankers  are  now  so  tightly  and  strongly  built  that  different 
grades  of  oil  are  carried  in  adjacent  tanks  in  the  same  vessel 
without  danger   of   contamination   through  leakage. 

The  modern  tendency  generally  is  toward  the  larger  sized 
ships  because  it  is  found  more  economical  both  to  construct  and 
operate  one  large  vessel  than  two  small  ones,  and  this  applies 
with    equal    force    to    tankers. 

Of  course,  most  of  the  modern  tankers  burn  oil  and  the 
auxiliary  equipment,  for  instance,  pumps  for  loading  and  un- 
loading, are  steam  driven.  The  piping  is  larger  and  each  year 
brings  the  addition  of  many  other  features  of  improvement  in 
tanker  construction,  although  the  general  principles  date  back  to 
the  first  tankers. 

—  157  — 


,r\, 

U 

w 

«■ 

^ 

W 

^"6"6- 

-6- 

"w* 

w 

The  internal  combustion  engine  has  been  successfully  used 
for  the  propulsion  of  tankers  and  the  recent  successful  perform- 
ance of  the  electrically  driven  merchant  cargo  vessels  no  doubt 
portends  the  use  of  this  mode  of  propelling  power  on  tankers, 
provided,  of  course,  proper  and  permanent  insulation  and  protec- 
tion of  wiring  can  be  secured  to  overcome  any  added  fire  risk 
in  the  proximity   of  the  oil  compartments. 

During  the  recent  war  the  size  of  the  fleet  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  was  materially  increased  both  by  the  pur- 
chase of  foreign  vessels  and  a  very  extensive  construction  program 
in  American  yards.  This  has  had  the  results  of  making  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  possessor  of  the  largest  privately 
owned  fleet  of  tank  steamers  in  the  world  and  operator  of  the 
largest  privately   owned   fleet   of   vessels   under  American   registry. 

At  the  present  time  this  Company  owns  57  tankers  of  approx- 
imately 620,000  deadweight  tons.  The  entire  fleet  operated  by 
the  Marine  Department  of  the  Company,  including  owned  cargo 
vessels,  barges,  etc.,  and  chartered  tonnage,  total  76  vessels,  of 
over  745,000  deadweight  tons.  This  fleet  is  engaged  in  the  trans- 
portation of  petroleum  and  its  product  between  points  of  pro- 
duction and  manufacture  on  the  one  hand  and  manufacture  and 
consumption  on  the  other.  The  majority  of  these  vessels  are  above 
10,000  deadweight  tons,  several  of  them  being  as  large  as  20,000 
deadweight  tons. 

In  the  operation  of  this  fleet  the  Marine  Department  directly 
employs  340  in  shore  positions,  in  addition  to  agencies  at  various 
ports  throughout  the  world,  and  the  seafaring  personnel  totals 
approximately    2,200    employees. 

The  house  flag  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  suggests 
to  all  steamship  men  of  the  highest  standard  of  operating  efficiency 
by  perfect  state  of  maintenance  of  hull  and  equipment,  prompt 
dispatch  and  turn  around,  and  successful  operation.  The  explana- 
tion for  this  condition  is  undoubtedly  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  broad  and  liberal  treatment  accorded  by  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  to  its  employees  generally  is  extended  to  its 
seafaring  personnel.  Not  alone  do  the  seafaring  personnel  includ- 
ing masters,  mates,  engineers,  firemen,  cooks,  stewards  and  sea- 
men receive  the  advantages  of  other  employes  in  insurance,  bene- 
fits in  instances  of  illness  or  disability,  and  an  opportunity  to 
receive,  in  the  purchase  of  stock  of  the  Company,  the  value  of 
$1.50  for  every  dollar  invested,  but  they  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a 
bonus  system  which  was  inaugurated  with  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1921. 


—  158  — 


u 

"vv" 

*u" 

^      ^    _/-\. 

^^^ 

^-6- 

r\     ^     /-\ 

This  bonus  system  provides  for  payments  to  the  particular 
personnel  aboard  ships  directly  responsible  for  the  successful 
fulfillment  of  the  principal  elements  entering  into  efficient  opera- 
tion. Records  are  maintained  of  the  performance  of  all  of  the 
vessels  according  to  these  principal  subdivisions  of  vessel  operation, 
and  the  full  bonus  is  paid  only  when  95%  or  more  of  the  100% 
standard  set  for  each  respective  vessel  has  been  attained.  When 
the  rating  is  between  95%  and  100%  of  the  fixed  standard,  only 
50%  of  the  indicated  bonus  is  paid.  The  bonus  in  each  instance 
is  a  fixed  percentage  of  the  annual  salary  received  by  each 
individual.  If  any  one  vessel  attains  100%  or  more  in  all  sub- 
divisions upon  which  bonus  is  paid,  the  Captain  and  Chief  Engineer 
receive  an  additional   10%. 

This  liberal  policy  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  pro- 
motes among  its  employees,  both  ashore  and  at  sea,  the  highest 
degree  of  co-operation  and  contentment  and  permits  the  latter  to 
enjoy  additional  benefits  commensurate  with  increased  diligence 
and  efficiency. 

The  successful  operation  under  the  American  flag  of  a  fleet  of 
the  magnitude  of  that  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  (N.  J.)  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  most  encouraging  and  tangible  justifications 
for  belief  in  the  practicability  of  establishing  an  American  Mer- 
chant Marine  the  equal  or  superior  to  that  of  any  other  country. 


T7 


R51 


159   - 


BUSH  TERMINAL-THE  REALIZA- 
TION OF  A  GREAT  WEAL  IN 
PORT  "DEVELOPMENT 

ON  INDICATION  of  points  of  resemblance  between  a  great 
terminal  for  the  accommodation  of  railroad  and  ocean  traffic 
and  between  terminal  stations  such  as  are  being  constantly 
developed  and  improved  in  every  great  city  in  the  land  may  serve 
to  illustrate  more  clearly  the  fundamental  necessity  of  the  terminal 
plan.  As  a  rule  the  familiar  terminal  stations  in  the  city  form 
points  of  interchange  for  passengers  between  through  and  local 
arteries  of  travel  and  converging  points  for  one  or  more  lengthy 
railway  systems.  They  not  only  expedite  the  journeys  of  the  trav- 
eller or  commuter,  but  without  them  it  would  be  impossible  for  the 
great  cities  to  handle  the  millions  of  persons  that  yearly  pour  over 
their  converging  transit  systems.  Local  traffic  would  be  jammed, 
and  the  cross  currents  of  humanity,  lacking  means  of  ready  trans- 
fer at  focal  points,  would  meet  in  inextricable  confusion. 

The  same  principle  underlies  the  rapid  and  economic  interchange 
of  sea  and  rail  freight.  If  the  streams  of  incoming  and  outgoing 
freight  do  no  move  easily  and  directly  between  steamer,  freight  car, 
or  warehouse,  the  same  confusing  tangle  will  result  as  in  the  handling 
of  passenger  traffic.  Recognition  of  the  advantages  of  the  terminal 
system  is  now  general  throughout  the  civilized  world.  It  has  evolved 
an  economic  principle  of  no  mean  importance  to  industry.  Today 
an  adequate  terminal  system  is  urged  by  foremost  shipping  men 
as  a  necessity  to  every  modern  port.  In  many  instances  the  sav- 
ings it  has  effected  have  been  the  factor  which  has  stood  between 
success  and  failure  of  business  interests  which  have  enjoyed  its 
facilities. 

The  most  comprehensive  terminal  system  in  this  country  was 
planned  by  a  young  man  who  saw  the  necessity  of  bringing  the 
factory,  the  warehouse,  the  railroad,  and  the  steamship  into  juxta- 
position. That  man  was  Mr.  Irving  T.  Bush.  As  a  result  of  his 
enterprise  there  has  been  developed  at  Bush  Terminal,  South  Brook- 
lyn, New  York,  the  largest  single  coordination  of  industrial  and 
shipping  facilities  in  the  world.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a 
knowledge  of  Bush  Terminal  is  essential  to  a  full  understanding  of 
modern  port  development.  It  forms  a  striking  and  definitely  worked 
out  illustration  of  the  inter-relation  of  industry  and  distribution. 
It  has  the  only  co-operative  grouping  in  the  world  of  manufacturers 
who  are  brought  into  direct  relation  to  world  lines  of  rail  and  ocean 
traffic. 

It  is  scarcely  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  that  the  site 
of  Bush  Terminal  was  a  vacant  waste.     Its  development  since  that 

—  160  — 


-6- 

W 

W 

k* 

|V7 

-e- 

*6*  "6**0" 

AA 

^A 

-e- 

& 

V7 

r> 

\r'- 

w 

w 

\J 

|w 

period  is  an  epic  in  American  industry  and  shipping.  First  ground 
was  broken  on  Bush  Terminal  in  1895.  Mr.  Irving  T.  Bush,  then 
a  young  man  scarcely  beyond  his  majority  and  joint  inheritor  of  a 
considerable  fortune,  cherished  an  ideal  of  what  a  modern  terminal 
should  be.  He  had  a  vision  of  a  complete  terminal  plant  upon  those 
vacant  acres.  He  clearly  foresaw  the  ever-increasing  congestion 
that  was  bound  to  develop  at  the  piers  of  lower  Manhattan.  He 
was  confident  that  increased  facilities  to  care  for  the  traffic  of  the 
port  would  be  demanded  with  the  growth  of  the  nation  and  of  the 
vast  community  centering  in  New  York.  But  there  were  many  who 
regarded  Mr.  Bush's  plans  as  visionary.  The  proposed  site  seemed 
too  far  away.  It  was  suggested  that  he  might  as  well  have  planned 
a  terminal  at  Coney  Island. 

Though  confronted  by  disheartening  and  seemingly  impassable 
obstacles,  the  young  man  set  about  courageously  to  break  through 
the  wall  of  indifference  and  ignorance  that  stood  before  his  goal. 
He  was  years  ahead  of  his  time  for,  although  planned  a  quarter  of 
a  century  ago,  the  fundamental  arrangement  of  Bush  Terminal,  the 
geographical  relation  of  piers,  warehouses,  terminal  railway,  and 
industrial  buildings  is  a  standard  the  world  over.  Moreover,  Bush 
Terminal  has  been  an  instrument  to  aid  in  elevating  the  reputation 
of  port  development  work.  During  the  inception  of  Bush  Terminal 
some  of  the  greatest  ports  in  the  world  suffered  under  a  stigma  of 
physical  dclapidation  and  moral  degradation  that  lowered  the  stand- 
ard of  sea-faring  men  in  the  estimation  of  the  public.  Shiftless 
ports  with  their  open  vices  might  make  good  copy  for  romantic 
writers,  but  they  slandered  the  dignity  of  those  who  followed  the 
sea  and  made  for  the  slow  and  costly  handling  of  cargoes. 

Two  incidents  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  obstacles 
overcome  by  Mr.  Bush  in  his  pioneer  work  for  the  Terminal.  Then 
we  will  consider  in  detail  some  outstanding  features  of  the  great 
plants  which  covers  about  two  hundred  acres. 

Mr.  Bush's  first  great  disillusionment  came  when  he  had  com- 
pleted his  first  pier.  Shipping  facilities  in  lower  Manhattan  were 
badly  crippled  even  at  that  time,  and  it  had  seemed  that  facilities 
for  loading,  unloading,  and  storage  in  a  cheap  location  would  in- 
evitably attract  patronage.  But  shipping  men  thought  the  pier 
too  far  away.  When  Mr.  Bush  found  the  pier  was  likely  to  remain 
empty,  he  chartered  a  ship,  which  he  christened  "The  Independent," 
loaded  her  with  bananas  from  Jamaica,  and  brought  her  back  to  his 
pier.  But  there  was  no  way  of  distributing  the  bananas  in  Brook- 
lyn ;  fruit  dealers  were  unwilling  to  handle  them  at  that  point,  and 
so  Mr.  Bush  auctioned  the  ship  load  at  a  New  York  pier.     After  a 

—  162  — 


w 

\  / 

w 

w 

,         L 


\/ 


/        -, 


\      / 


'        / 


f^l^BiBI 


second  and  third  trip  to  the  West  Indies,  a  line  which  had  a  monop- 
oly on  the  Jamaica  trade,  perhaps  fearing  competition  in  fruit 
transport  from  Mr.  Hush,  >aicl  that  they  would  be  glad  to  help 
him  make  a  demonstration  of  the  value  of  his  pier  by  landing  non- 
perishable  materials  there.  The  only  proviso  was  that  Mr.  Bush 
should  make  no  charge  for  docking  and  handling  the  goods,  which 
they  agreed  to  land.  Mr.  Bush  accepted  the  challenge  and  soon 
the  pier  was  drawing  business. 

A  second  disappointment  came  in  the  failure  of  many  of  the 
railroads  to  recognize  Bush  Terminal.  Few  of  them,  apparently, 
knew  that  it  was  on  the  map.  In  long  wearying  rounds,  Mr.  Bush 
visited  the  offices  of  all  the  freight  agents.  "When  I  was  turned 
down,  I  considered  that  an  invitation  to  begin  negotiations  had  been 
extended,"  the  writer  once  heard  him  say. 

Some  of  the  Western  railroads  had  never  even  listed  Bush  Ter- 
minal. It  was  not  in  their  rate  books.  Mr.  Bush  sent  wise  young 
men  to  Michigan  with  instructions  to  buy  several  carloads  of  hay 
and  consign  them  to  Bush  Terminal.  The  freight  agent  in  Michi- 
gan scratched  his  head  and  said  he  did  not  know  where  Bush  Ter- 
minal was,  but  he  agreed  to  ship  the  hay,  and  when  cars  bearing  in 
six  foot  letters  "Bush  Terminal,  Brooklyn,"  made  their  way  through 
Eastern  yards,  railway  men  sat  up  and  took  notice.  Bush  Ter- 
minal was  on  the  map. 

The  incredulity  which  Mr.  Bush  encountered  among  both  sea 
and  rail  shippers,  he  also  encountered  among  capitalists.  They 
said  he  was  a  dreamer.  That  may  be  true;  most  men  of  vast  accom- 
plishments are  dreamers,  but  Mr.  Bush's  vision  has  been  realized. 
An  illustration  of  the  capacity  of  the  plant  he  inspired  may  be  had 
from  the  fact  that  during  the  war  the  port  of  New  York  was  allotted 
eighty  per  cent  of  the  outgoing  U.  S.  Army  freight  and  Bush  Ter- 
minal was  allotted  sixty  per  cent  of  that  eighty.  There  was  no  time 
at  which  freight,  munitions,  or  troops  were  delayed  by  failure  in 
handling  at  Bush  Terminal. 

The  Bush  Terminal  Company  was  incorporated  in  1902.  The 
last  of  its  eight  piers  to  have  been  completed  was  pier  No.  6,  com- 
pleted July  1st,  1913.  Six  of  the  piers  are  150  feet  wide  and  1,300 
feet  long;  one  is  slightly  less  and  one  somewhat  larger.  The  largest 
pier,  double-decked,  has  an  area  of  fifteen  acres  on  both  floors.  The 
piers  accommodate  twenty-seven  steamship  lines.  There  are  122 
Avarehouses  immediately  opposite  and  facing  the  piers,  and  with 
29>2  million  cubic  feet  of  storage  space.  There  are  sixteen  model 
loft  buildings  for  the  accommodation  of  manufacturing  and  indus- 
trial tenants,  and  with  more  than  five  and  one  million  square  feet  of 


163  — 


-e- 

:U|U 

-6- 

XJ 


\7 


X7 


t7 


f^ 


V7 


r:^\ 


\_T 


T7 


t7 


,/ZX 


V7 


\J 

w 

w 

u 

space.  Two  of  these  buildings,  numbers  22  and  24,  have  been  com- 
pleted within  the  last  three  years.  There  is  a  cold  storage  plant 
with  one  and  one-half  million  feet  of  space.  A  million  dollar  fire 
protection  system  assures  lowest  insurance  rates.  Bush  Terminal 
railroad,  with  more  than  twenty-three  miles  of  track  and  modern 
equipment  is  a  terminal  for  the  ten  main  trunk  lines  reaching  the 
port  of  New  York. 

The  loft  buildings  are  occupied  by  the  plants  of  almost  three 
hundred  industrial  concerns.  The  company  furnishes  the  manu- 
facturers light,  power,  storage,  drayage,  porterage  and  numerous 
other  facilities  at  an  extremely  low  co-operative  rate.  The  manu- 
facturer may  purchase  as  much  or  as  little  of  these  services  as  he 
desires. 

The  warehouses  include  both  one-story  warehouses  with  a  clear- 
ance overhead  of  twenty  feet,  and  the  multiple  story  warehouses 
which  are  four,  five  and  six  stories  high.  The  one  story  warehouses 
are  adapted  for  the  storage  of  cotton  hemp,  jute,  sisal,  etc.  The 
multiple  story  warehouses  are  adapted  to  the  storing  of  coffee, 
cocoa,  rubber,  wood,  burlap,  etc.  There  are  six  six-story  coffee 
warehouses. 

Bush  Terminal  is  an  agency  for  the  accommodation  and  develop- 
ment of  both  traffic  and  industry.  Its  traffic  activities  consist  of 
those  of  forwarding  agent.  It  receives  goods  for  export  from  the 
interior  shipper,  separates  and  classifies  them,  puts  them  in  a  ware- 
house free  of  storage  for  one  month,  marks  them,  packs  them,  and 
ships  them  to  their  destination,  promptly.  Goods  are  packed,  in- 
voiced and  shipped  at  an  extremely  low  rate,  a  few  cents  a  hundred 
pounds. 

One  of  the  features  of  the  plant  is  the  provision  that  has  been 
made  for  the  accommodation  and  welfare  of  employees.  There  is 
an  attractive  two-story  building  designated  as  the  Longshoremen's 
Club.  This  is  equipped  with  a  restaurant  and  lounging  rooms  for 
stevedores  and  dock  laborers.  This  makes  it  possible  for  the  men 
to  obtain  without  inconvenience  properly  cooked  wholesome  food  at 
a  reasonable  price.  It  also  provides  a  place  for  them  to  go  during 
spare  time  when  the  weather  is  inclement.  An  emergency  hospital 
is  maintained  by  the  Company  for  its  employees  and  those  of  its 
tenants. 

Two  other  institutions  also  care  for  the  employees,  branches  of 
the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  The  Y.  M."  C.  A.  provides 
social,  athletic  and  recreational  features.  The  building  has  bowl- 
ing alleys,  billiard  tables,  a  large  gymnasium  with  full  equipment, 
reading  rooms  and  lounging  rooms 


—  16 1  — 


^ 

^ 

~ 


1  g 

.5'  X 

-a  H 

«?•  hrj 

s  *  -*^ 

3.  «  > 

ST  >-  M 

a   I!  ^ 

a-  2  ^ 


&    O 


Co 


O 

— » 


THE  STATEN  ISLAND 
SHIPBUILDING  COMPANY 

BACK  in  1895  a  small  group  of  men  who  had  spent  the  greater 
part  of  their  lives  following  the  sea,  decided  that  the  Port  of 
New  York  needed  a  steel  shipyard.  Their  experience  had 
taught  them  that  a  steel  shipyard  located  in  the  port,  could  not  help 
but  be  successful  because  of  the  great  demand  of  harbor  craft  to 
supplement  the  call  for  larger  tonnage,  which  call  became,  as  every- 
one knows,  a  paramount  demand  during  the  hectic  }Tears  from  1915- 
1920.  That  their  venture  was  successful,  the  present  plants  of  the 
Staten  Island  Shipbuilding  Company  stand  ready  to  testify.  The 
man  who  pioneered  this  enterprise  was  W.  J.  Davidson,  who  is  still 
a  most  active  president  of  this  company.  Associated  with  him  at 
the  start  were  a  few  of  the  leading  men  of  the  old  Starin  yard  of 
whom  Messrs.  Clute,  Carney  and  Hinton  were  the  leaders.  Of  these 
associates  the  latter  two — Carney  and  Hinton — have  recently  died, 
while  James  Clute  is  at  present  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Company. 

The  first  plant  was  located  in  a  part  of  the  present  Port  Rich- 
mond Yard  and  consisted  principally  of  a  small  machine  shop  and 
boiler  shop.  Mr.  Davidson  had  been  for  many  years  master  me- 
chanic of  the  Starin  Yard,  and  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Carney 
looked  after  the  mechanical  end  of  the  business.  Mr.  Clute  had  been 
chief  boilermaker  at  the  Starin  Yard  and  occupied  that  position 
with  his  new  Company. 

The  small  office  served  as  a  drawing-room  and  large  layouts  were 
made  on  the  office  floor.  Such  was  the  start  of  this  remarkable  Com- 
pany. "Service"  and  "Quality"  were  the  two  words  most  prominent 
in  the  minds  of  these  pioneers  and  in  time  it  became  a  by-word  that 
if  one  wanted  a  good  job  done  in  the  right  way  he  could  do  no 
better  than  by  letting  Mr.  Davidson  do  it. 

At  Port  Richmond  adjoining  the  Davidson  plant  was  the  old 
Burke  Dry  Dock.  It  was  more  or  less  a  rival  firm  and  had  its  cus- 
tomers who  had  long  known  Mr.  Burlee.  Mr.  Davidson  early  saw 
the  benefits  of  an  amalgamation  of  resources  and  the  result  was 
that  in  1898  the  two  plants  consolidated  and  formed  the  Burlee  Dry 
Dock  Company. 

In  1898  George  H.  Bates,  just  graduated  from  Stevens  Insti- 
tute, walked  into  the  Port  Richmond  office  and,  finding  Mr.  David- 
son in  his  shirt  sleeves  studying  a  layout  on  the  office  floor,  per- 
suaded him  that  he  needed  a  draftsman.  He  was  made  chief  drafts- 
man, and  in  a  short  time  began  designing  engines,  the  manufacture 
of  which  has  become  one  of  the  principal  features  of  the  work  of 
this  Company. 

—  166  — 


A 
T7 


Wi 


XX 


JZ± 


u* 


T7 


xx 


xx 
T7 


xx 
T7 


XX 


T7 


XX 

T7 


xx 
T7 


XX 

T7 


FS^F^ 


At  about  the  same  time,  with  the  advent  of  orders  for  steel  hulls, 
it  became  necessary  to  secure  the  best  hull  man  obtainable  to  sup- 
ervise this  all-important  work.  The  old  guard  heretofore  mentioned 
were  all  engineers  and  the  building  of  steel  hulls  necessitated  a  dif- 
ferent kind  of  experience  than  any  of  them  had  had.  Mr.  J.  E. 
Bowers  was  brought  up  from  the  Delaware  to  fill  this  post,  and  so 
the  organization  was  rounded  out. 

The  baby  Company  soon  began  turning  out  work  in  quantity 
and  in  quality  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  all.  The  early  hulls 
built  included  such  a  diversified  line  as  carfloats,  scows,  barges — 
both  coal  and  oil — yachts,  schooners,  ferry-boats,  steam  and  der- 
rick lighters,  seagoing  and  harbor  tugs,  dredges,  drill  boats,  and  in 
the  more  recent  years  the  product  has  included  mine  sweepers,  cargo 
ships,  and  huge  oil  and  molasses  tankers.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
any  yard  in  the  Country  can  show  a  list  of  ships  that  includes  more 
types  than  have  been  built  by  this  Company.  The  fact  that  the 
3rard  is  located  in  New  York  Harbor  has  been  largely  responsible 
for  this  because  nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  one  find  such  a  variety 
of  craft  as  have  business  in  this  port.  The  upkeep  and  replace- 
ment of  these  craft  insures  the  permanency  of  this  yard  which  surely 
speaks  well  for  the  vision  of  its  founders. 

Shortly  after  this  Mr.  Burlee  withdrew  from  the  firm  and  its 
name  was  changed  to  the  Staten  Island  Shipbuilding  Co. 

As  the  Company  began  turning  out  these  craft  and  the  work 
became  heavier,  it  was  apparent  that  it  must  enlarge  its  plant. 
J.  H.  Davidson,  son  of  the  president,  who  heretofore  had  been  gain- 
ing valuable  experience  at  sea,  entered  the  Company  and  proceeded 
to  take  an  active  part  in  its  administration.  The  old  Port  Rich- 
mond Plant  was  enlarged  to  its  present  size,  additional  dry-docks 
were  built  and  shortly  after,  the  site  of  the  Mariners  Harbor  yard 
was  acquired.  It  became  the  duty  of  the  younger  Davidson  to  de- 
A'elop  the  upper  or  Mariners'  Harbor  Yard,  and,  in  a  few  years  this 
plant  was  beginning  to  turn  out  its  share  of  the  work.  Thus  the 
Company  maintained  a  healthy  growth  until  the  year  1915  when 
shipyards  first  began  to  feel  the  demands  for  work  occasioned  by 
the  trouble  in  Europe. 

The  war  record  of  the  Staten  Island  Shipbuilding  Company  is 
indeed  an  impressive  one.  We  cannot  take  the  space  to  detail  all 
of  this  work  but  let  us  touch  the  high  spots.  Its  production  from 
1915  to  1919  included  six  3,500-D.  W.  T.  cargo  ships  built  orig- 
inally for  the  Cunard  Line  and  commandeered  by  the  government; 
eight  mine  sweepers  for  the  U.  S.  Navy,  which  have  performed  won- 
derful service  since  their  delivery  and  are  now  being  converted  into 

—  167  — 


,tt 

Itt 

-6- 

-6- 

tt 

1  w 

tW 

iU 

wrecking  and  salvage  tugs  ;  six  seagoing  tugs  for  the  U.  S.  Navy ; 
twenty-four  reciprocating  engines  and  condensers  for  the  French 
Government ;  conversion  of  a  large  number  of  yachts,  merchant 
vessels  and  ex-German  ships  to  craft  suitable  for  war  purposes  and 
the  remarkable  part  of  this  is,  while  it  was  all  transpiring,  the  ship- 
yard had  to  be  built.  The  Mariners  Harbor  Plant  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  war  had  only  two  small  ways  and  no  buildings  or  shops  to 
amount  to  anything.  Thus,  the  entire  plant  had  to  be  built  and  its 
present  size  and  the  permanency  of  its  buildings  and  ways  will 
attest  to  the  amount  of  work  thus  entailed.  Practically  all  of  the 
ground  had  to  be  filled  in  and  great  quantities  of  piling  driven  and 
much  dredging  in  the  channel  and  approaches  to  the  Plant. 

Since  the  War  the  Company  maintained  its  growth  with  an  ever- 
increasing  volume  of  work  until  the  Spring  of  this  year,  1921,  when 
it,  in  common  with  other  industrial  plants,  felt  the  slump  of  busi- 
ness. A  large  number  of  oil  barges  have  been  built,  an  1800-D. 
W.  T.,  a  4000-D.  W.  T.,  and  a  6300-D.  AY.  T.  tanker  have  been 
built  and  a  dredge  for  the  U.  S.  Army.  At  present  the  plant  is 
building  a  large  seagoing  tvig  and  the  new  municipal  ferryboat 
which  bears  the  name  of  ''President  Roosevelt,"  and  if  quality  of 
workmanship  can  do  it,  it  will  be  a  vesesl  worthy  to  bear  such  a 
name. 

A  recent  addition  to  the  Mariners'  Harbor  Plant  is  the  new 
10,000-ton  floating  drydock  which  was  put  in  commission  early  in 
July,  1921,  and  has  scarcely  been  idle  a  day  since.  This  new  dock 
rounds  out  the  facilities  of  the  plant  for  handling  work  of  the  big- 
gest character.  Its  reputation  for  small  work  has  long  been  estab- 
lished, but  the  demands  occasioned  by  the  war  made  it  imperative  to 
do  big  work,  and  once  it  got  fairly  started  in  the  game,  the  Company 
did  not  intend  to  forsake  it.  Therefore,  with  its  boiler,  machine,  plate 
and  angle,  and  joiner  shops,  its  mold  loft,  foundry,  new  concrete 
shipwnys  and  six  dry  docks,  ranging  from  150  ft.  to  475  ft.,  in 
length,  nnd  its  excellent  berthing  facilities  it  stands  at  present  com- 
peting with  its  rivals  in  all  grades  of  work. 

Such  is  the  history  of  the  pioneer  steel  yard  of  the  Port  of  New 
York.  Among  the  many  examples  of  its  workmanship  which  may 
be  seen  today  are  the  old  ferryboat  "Richmond"  built  in  1904  and 
still  considered  the  pride  of  the  line;  the  yacht  "Undaunted,"  for- 
merly the  "Karina" — the  largest  schooner  yacht  in  the  world;  the 
tug  "Gypsum  King" — one  of  the  largest  seagoing  tugs  on  the  coast 
built  in  1902:  while  one  of  the  last  products,  the  "Franklin"  of  the 
Galena  Signal  Oil  Company,  has  proven  the  ideal  tanker  to  transport 
various  grades  of  lubricating  oil  in  bulk  without  mixing  the  grades. 

—  168  — 


..   ., 

T7 


T7 


./~x 

T7 


FST 


^x 

T7 


IT 


T7^ 


IFel 


^^ 


'vji 


J 


J=x 
XT 


j  ■ 
T7 


XT 


J      -A 

XT 


The  old  "Clairmont"  of  the  Hudson-Fulton  Exposition  fame  was 
built  by  this  Company.  The  yachts  "Resolute"  and  "Shamrock 
V"  received  their  final  overhauling  at  the  Port  Richmond  Yard  be- 
fore their  races  in  July.  1920.  While  at  present  a  most  unique  job 
is  nearing  completion,  in  the  lengthening  of  the  old  tanker  ••North- 
western''' by  building  56  additional  feet  in  her  middle  body,  giving 
her  1,000  additional  tons  "carrying''  capacity  and  at  the  same  time 
thoroughly  repairing  and  reconditioning  this  vessel,  which  was 
given  up  for  lost  two  years  ago.  This  work  is  being  performed  right 
under  the  personal  supervision  of  Mr.  Davidson — the  lengthening 
taking  place  on  the  large  single  section  floating  dock  at  the  Port 
Richmond  plant. 

Thus  after  twenty- seven  years  of  continuous  existence,  the 
Staten  Island  Shipbuilding  Company  stands  today  ready  and  cap- 
able to  tackle  any  character  of  marine  work.  For  the  convenience 
of  its  customers  it  opened  an  office  at  No.  1  Broadway,  New  York, 
in  1920,  the  younger  Mr.  Davidson  assuming  charge  of  it.  Through 
this  office  the  Company  is  able  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  the  various 
ship  companies. 

THE  KERR  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY 

THE  KERR  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY  is  a  succession  of  the 
firm  of  Kerr  &  Atkinson  which  sprung  into  being  during  the 
early  days  of  the  world  war.  When  expansion  made  it  neces- 
sary to  incorporate  the  business  the  present  organization  was  formed. 
Those  chiefly  responsible  for  financing  and  building  up  the  vast 
amount  of  war  business  that  the  company  enjoyed  were:  Edward  F. 
Geer,  who  raised  the  funds ;  Henry  S.  Quick,  who  procured  immense 
quantities  of  freight ;  and  A.  E.  Clegg,  who  directed  the  office  affairs 
of  the  company,  H.  F.  Kerr,  a  British  subject,  acting  in  conjunction 
with  Mr.  Clegg. 

The  earnings  of  this  company  were  large  during  the  period  of 
the  war.  The  company  erected  a  twelve-story  building  on  Beaver 
Street,  where,  for  a  considerable  time  after  the  war,  it  handled  a 
fair  share  of  the  freight  business  from  the  Port  of  New  York.  Plans 
have  been  developing  for  over  a  year  to  institute  passenger  services 
to  Europe. 


—  169 


COMPAGNIE  QE-NERALE 
T<RANSA  TLANTIQ  UE 

{The  French  Line) 

FOUNDED  in  1855,  as  the  Compagnie  Generale  Maritime,  the 
French  Line  began  business  with  sailing  craft  to  the  Newfound- 
land fisheries  and  in  the  guano  trade  to  the  Pacific  and  with 
steamers  from  France  to  Algiers  and  other  ports  to  the  southward. 
Six  years  later  the  company  assumed  its  present  name  of  Compagnie 
Generale  Transatlantique  and  made  a  contract  with  the  French  Gov- 
ernment to  put  in  operation  a  line  of  mail  steamers  between  France 
and  the  West  Indies,  Mexico  and  the  United  States. 

The  Havre-New  York  service  was  begun  with  iron  sidewheelers 
of  3200  tons  and  was  inaugurated  with  the  sailing  of  the  Washing- 
ton on  June  15,  1861.  She  was  commanded  by  Captain  Duchesne 
and  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  night  of  June  28th. 

The  Lafayette  followed  her  on  the  line  later  in  the  year,  leaving 
Havre  on  August  24th  and  reaching  New  York  on  September  5th. 

These  two  pioneers  were  followed  by  the  iron  sidewheelers  Im- 
peratrice  Eugenie,  Europe  and  Napoleon  III. 

The  Pereire,  Ville  de  Paris  and  St.  Laurent  were  single  screw 
vessels  and  were  fast  craft  for  their  day.  Their  success  led  the  com- 
pany to  abandon  sidewheelers  and  build  screw  steamers  so  a  fleet  of 
fine  single  screw  ships  came  into  being.  They  were  named  France, 
Amerique,  Labrador  and  Canada.  La  Normandie  was  added  to 
the  line  in  1883  and  marked  a  distinct  advance  in  size,  speed  and 
comfort. 

In  those  days,  the  greater  part  of  the  world's  mercantile  tonnage 
was  built  in  the  shipyards  of  Great  Britain,  French  yards  being 
mainly  devoted  to  the  construction  of  men-of-war.  The  Compagnie 
Generale  Transatlantique,  however,  with  characteristic  progressive- 
ness,  decided  to  establish  its  own  shipyard  and  build  its  own  liners, 
and  thereafter  only  two,  La  Gascogne  and  La  Bourgogne,  were 
built  in  the  United  Kingdom,  the  others  of  their  new  fleet,  La  Cham- 
pagne and  La  Bretagne,  being  constructed  at  the  company's  own 
works  at  St.  Nazaire.  These  ships  were  large  craft  for  their  day, 
being  495  feet  long,  52  feet  beam,  33  feet  6  inches  deep  and  6,900 
tons.  Their  engines  were  three-crank,  six-cylinder  compound,  each 
high  pressure  cylinder  being  over  its  low  pressure  cylinder,  so  that 
there  were  really  three  tandem  compound  engines  on  the  same  three 
throw  crank  shaft. 

For  many  years  these  five  ships  were  favorites  with  the  traveling 
public.  But  naval  architecture  progresses  constantly,  and  last 
year's  cracks  drop  astern  as  new  ships  come  out.     In  a  few  years 

—  170  — 


x: 


c 

C6 


c 


^    X 


/. 


VH§ 

s 

w 

s     Si- 

^J 

rs      ^ 

*s 

h^ 

OS    ^ 

w 

■*          -^, 

-J 

WAJ 

Ki  e 

^-~ 

Ka   g- 

rr; 

^ 

2 
n 

C        •— I 


— . , 


,£X 


T7 


^ 


^CA, 


t7 


£\ 


XJ 


XJ 


R5 


R^l 


XJ 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


'mmmsi 


j^ 


j 


these  favorite  vessels  were  being  outbuilt.  The  Company  thereupon 
brought  out  their  first  twin  screw  ship,  La  Touraine.  She  was  built 
at  St.  Nazaire  in  1891  and  is  still  in  service. 

In  1899,  the  Normannia,  built  for  the  Hamburg-American  Line,. 
was  bought  from  the  Spanish  Government  which  had  purchased  her 
just  before  the  war  for  use  as  a  transport  and  auxiliary  cruiser. 
She  was  renamed  L'Auitaine  and  put  on  the  New  York  run.  She 
was  followed  by  two  new  ships,  La  Lorraine  and  La  Savoie. 

Increasing  traffic  required  newer  and  larger  vessels,  and  the 
French  Line,  keeping  pace  with  the  demands  of  travelers,  in  1906 
added  another  fine  ship,  La  Provence.  She  was  a  twin  screw  ship 
of  18,000  tons  and  her  engines  developed  22,000  horse  power.  She 
went  into  service  in  the  spring  of  1906,  leaving  Havre  the  morning 
of  April  21st.  She  arrived  in  New  York  on  the  morning  of 
April  27th. 

Continuing  its  building  programme,  the  company  constructed 
the  Rochambeau  in  1911.  She  is  £69  feet  long,  61  feet  beam,  13 
feet  deep,  13,391  tons  register  and  17,117  tons  displacement  on  26 
feet  10  inches  draught.  Her  engines  indicate  13,000  horse  power 
and  are  a  combination  of  reciprocating  engines  and  low  pressure 
turbines.  She  is  a  one-class  cabin  steamer  and  is  one  of  the  best  of 
that  type  afloat. 

Other  one-class  cabin  steamers  are  the  Chicago,  built  in  1908, 
the  Niagara,  built  in  the  same  year  and  originally  used  for  long 
cruises,  and  the  older  La  Touraine. 

The  next  year,  1912,  the  company  placed  in  service  the  large 
cmadruple  screw  steamer  France.  Though  eclipseel  by  the  Paris,  the 
latest  addition  to  the  fleet,  she  was  then  the  finest  steamship  ever 
built  in  a  French  shipyard.  On  her  maiden  voyage  she  left  Havre 
April  20,  1912,  at  2  p.  m.  and  arrived  in  New  York  at  8  a.  m.  on 
April  26,  making  the  voyage  in  5  days  20  hours  anel  2  minutes. 

But  the  finest  ship  of  the  fleet  is  the  latest  addition,  the  Paris. 
She  is  768  feet  long,  86  feet  beam  and  60  feet  dee]).  On  31  feet 
draught  she  displaces  36,700  metric  tons.  Construction  was  begun 
before  the  war,  but  suspended  in  1916  and  not  resumed  until  after 
the  armistice. 

Great  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  safety  of  the  ship,  and  she 
is  divided  into  15  watertight  compartments.  Forward  and  aft  the 
bulkheads  extend  up  to  I)  deck  and  amidships  to  E  deck.  Her  15 
oil  burning  boilers  are  in  five  compartments  with  longitudinal  bulk- 
heads outboard  and  these  bulkheads  extend  aft  through  the  engine 
room.     Powerful  pumps  are  provided  to  take  care  of  any  incoming 


172  — 


\& 

ME 


ft\ 


Z5\ 


1^1 


water  and,  should  the  vessel  take  a  list  from  damage  to  a  side  com- 
partment, water  ballast  can  quickly  be  pumped  to  the  high  side  to 
put  her  again  on  an  even  keel. 

The  Paris  has  accommodations  for  3,240  passengers  divided 
as  follows:  In  the  staterooms  and  suites  de  luxe,  104;  in  the  first 
cabin,  418;  in  the  so-called  "mixed"  class,  50;  in  the  second  cabin, 
46'4 ;  in  the  third  class,  2,200,  of  whom  1,092  are  in  staterooms  and 
the  rest  in  bunks.  The  ship's  complement  is  (j(j4,  so  that  there  is  a 
total  of  3,904  persons  aboard  when  she  is  full.  Forty-nine  30-foot 
boats  of  two  different  types  are  installed,  as  well  as  a  powerful  30- 
foot  motor  launch  equipped  with  radio.  In  addition,  there  are  8 
rafts  of  special  type  and  a  whaleboat  and  a  dinghy. 

A  powerful  radio  system  keeps  the  Paris  in  constant  communica- 
tion with  the  shore  and  with  other  ships,  while  her  submarine  signal 
apparatus  makes  navigation  in  fog  an  easy  matter. 

Altogether,  the  Paris  is  a  notable  ship  and  a  credit  to  her  de- 
signers, owners  and  builders. 

The  company  maintains  services  between  France  and  New  York, 
Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  Cuba,  Mexico,  New  Orleans,  Panama, 
Guiana,  Haiti,  Porto  Rico  and  other  West  Indian  ports ;  Hamburg, 
Antwerp,  Cardiff,  London  and  Liverpool ;  Casa  Blanca,  Algiers, 
Tunis,  Oran,  Bone,  Phillippeville,  Bizerte,  Mazagan,  Saffi;  Mogra- 
dor,  Tangier,  Sfax,  Cette,  Bougie,  Montaganem ;  Christobal,  Guaya- 
quil, Callao,  Mollendo,  Arica,  Iquique  Antofagasta,  Valparaiso  and 
Talcahuano. 

The  New  York  offices  of  the  company  are  at  19  State  street. 


M 


THE  NEW  PORT  OF  NEWARK 

THE  natural  and  developed  facilities  of  the  new  Port  of  Newark 
were  so  apparent  to  the  officials  of  the  Submarine  Boat 
Corporation  that  it  was  without  hesitation  that  this  site  was 
selected  for  the  building  of  its  big  plant  for  the  production  of  stand- 
ardized ships.  During  the  emergency  period  at  Newark  Bay  ship- 
yard, these  advantages  were  further  emphasized  and  led  to  the 
incorporation  of  two  component  companies — the  Transmarine  Cor- 
poration and  the  Atlantic  Port  Railway. 

What  makes  Port  Newark  so  important  in  its  relationship  to  the 
Port  of  New  York  is  its  direct  connections  with  the  principal  trans- 
continental railroads  which  have  their  termini  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  Hudson.  This  is  the  keystone  of  Port  Newark's  argument  for 
recognition  as  an  auxiliary  port.  By  the  coordination  of  rail  and 
ship,  lighterage  is  eliminated  and  one  of  the  principal  causes  for 
the  congestion  in  New  York  Harbor  is  greatly  alleviated. 

A  shallow  channel  interfered  with  the  loading  of  vessels  to  more 
than  a  twenty  foot  draft,  but  the  energetic  city  of  Newark  at  its 
own  expense,  has  just  completed  dredging  the  channel  to  a  minimum 
depth  of  31  feet  with  a  uniform  width  at  the  bottom  of  200  feet.  At 
an  early  date  it  is  expected  that  this  channel  under  governmental 
auspices  will  be  widened  to  700  feet  from  the  Kill  von  Kill  to  the 
entrance  of  the  Passaic  and  Hackensack  Rivers,  and  possibly  up 
these  streams  to  the  industrial  developments  farther  inland.  Geo- 
graphicall}',  Newark  Bay  is  the  western  reserve  of  New  York  Har- 
bor, and  regardless  of  state  lines,  it  is  an  integral  part  of  the  great 
eastern  Gateway  through  which  more  than  50%  of  the  nation's 
export  commerce  flows.  Unlike  the  lower  stratum  about  the  island 
of  Manhattan,  Newark  Bay  and  its  contiguous  shore  lines  present  no 
engineering  enigmas.  The  bay  bottom  and  the  shore  lines  are  of  a 
soft,  silty  nature,  and  the  use  of  suction  dredges  is,  indeed,  a  sim- 
pler method  of  getting  deeper  water  than  dynamite. 

Port  Newark  Terminal  offers  to  shippers  a  service  which  may 
be  summarized  as  follows : 

First :  It  offers  through  the  Transmarine  Corporation  an  ocean 
steamship  service,  which  has  a  fleet  of  thirty-two  new  steel  steamers 
available. 

Second:  Through  the  Canal  division  of  the  Transmarine  Cor- 
poration, it  offers  a  responsible  and  regular  service  over  the  New 
York  State  Barge  Canal  to  Buffalo  and  the  Lake  Ports,  including 
Chicago,  Cleveland,  Detroit,  Duluth  and  Superior.  Store  door  de- 
liveries are  made  at  Buffalo  and  a  private  terminal  with  Barge  con- 
nections are  offered  to  shippers  desiring  storage  service  at  this 
point. 

—  174  — 


Vy 


/z^ 


XJ 


^ 


v/ 


01 


/  \, 


\7 


\  / 


\  / 


\7 


S 


^gSSSEElEl 


\  7 


■  / 


@S 


Third:  Tort  Newark  Terminal  lias  been  connected  directly  with 
the  Pennsylvania,  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  the  Jersey  Central  Rail- 
roads through  the  Atlantic  Port  Railway.  Through  rates  also  apply 
on  all  other  trunk  lines  for  Atlantic  Port  Railway  delivery  when 
routed  over  the  tracks  of  the  first  three  mentioned. 

Fourth :  The  tracks  of  the  Atlantic  Port  Railway  serve  two  large, 
fire-proof,  modern  warehouses,  which  are  located  close  to  the  load- 
ing dock  of  the  Transmarine  Line.  The  tracks  also  serve  the  storage 
yard  and  dock.     The  storage  yard  consists  of  over  100  acres. 

Fifth:  The  loading  dock  is  over  -1,000  feet  long,  double  track 
below,  with  a  trestle  above,  which  is  equipped  with  thirty  steam  and 
electric  cranes.  Parcels  weighing  up  to  seventy  tons  can  be  lifted 
and  effectively  handled. 

Sixth:  Besides  its  fleet  of  thirty-two  steamers  and  twenty  barges, 
the  Transmarine  Corporation  has  a  corps  of  forty  large  motor 
trucks  to  utilize  in  the  delivery  and  collection  of  package  freight  in 
the  Metropolitan  district. 

It  is  the  completeness  of  the  Transmarine  service  at  Port  New- 
ark Terminal  that  qualifies  this  location  as  an  ideal  storage  base 
and  distribution  center.  With  its  equipment,  it  presents  a  unique 
appeal  to  manufacturers  of  staples  in  food  and  supplies,  to  canners, 
to  piano  and  automobile  makers,  large  publishing  houses  for  the 
storage  of  paper,  and  to  manufacturers  of  all  classes  of  machinery 
and  steel  implements.  It  is  an  ideal  operating  base  in  all  its  appoint- 
ments to  the  western  factory  owner,  equipped  for  storage  and  deliv- 
eries to  a  far  greater  degree,  than  if  the  manufacturer  owned  an 
individual  eastern  agency  and  warehouse. 

Port  Newark  is  quite  accessible  to  New  Yorkers,  particularly 
those  travelling  by  automobile.  Upon  arrival  at  Jersey  City  via  ferry, 
the  following  route  is  the  most  direct:  Montgomery  Street,  Hudson 
County  Boulevard,  Lincoln  Highway  (also  known  as  Plank  Road), 
Doremus  Avenue  and  Port  Street  to  Port  Newark  Terminal. 

New  Yorkers  can  also  come  to  Port  Newark  via  the  Hudson  and 
Manhattan  Tubes  to  Park  Place,  Newark.  Upon  arrival  take  jitney 
marked  "Port  Newark"  during  rush  hours  or  any  southbound  trolley 
on  Broad  Street  to  Market  Street,  then  transfer  to  South  Orange 
car  marked  "Wilson  Avenue"  to  Avenue  L,  then  Bergen  car  to  Port 
Newark. 

A  well-paved  highway  connects  Port  Newark  with  Newark 
proper,  affording  a  comfortable,  rapid  service  by  automobile  or  jit- 
ney. This  road,  known  as  Port  Street,  connects  with  South  Street. 
There  is  regular  all-day  trolley  service  via  the  Bergen  Line,  which 
co-ordinates  with  the  South  Orange  Line  at  Wilson  Avenue  and 
Magazine  Street. 

—  175 — 


LEWIS  NIXON 

Designer    of   many    famous    battleships   and   builder   of   the    steam   pilot 

boat,  Sandy  Hook 


LEWIS  <NIXON 

IN  KNOWLEDGE  of  the  harbor  of  New  York  and  its  approaches 
even  the   pilots   must   admit   a    peer    in    Lewis    Nixon.      In    1897 

Mr.  Nixon  built  and  commissioned  the  Loudoun,  upon  which  he 
lived  with  his  family  tor  five  months  of  the  year  from  1897  to  1916. 
Anchored  in  the  upper  or  lower  bay,  in  the  Hudson  or  the  Sound, 
he  steamed  every  morning  to  his  shipyard  on  the  Kills;  in  bad 
weather  seeking  shelter  in  Northeast  Harbor,  Kay  Ridge  or  Graves- 
end  Bay. 

The  Loudoun  was  nearly  always  being  used  to  entertain  distin- 
guished guests  from  home  and  abroad.  Political  leaders  like  Croker, 
yachtsmen  like  Lipton,  diplomats  like  Lord  Pauncefote,  traders  like 
Gates,  generals  like  Barry,  admirals  like  Sampson,  Senators,  Gov- 
ernors, Congressmen  and  men  of  leading  rank  in  commerce,  finance 
and  politics  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the  Loudoun;  and  Mr.  Nixon 
learned  of  the  harbor,  its  charm  and  its  possibilities,  as  no  one  could 
other  than  a  pilot.  He  studied  its  future  and,  as  early  as  1895, 
was  urging  legislation  for  its  development  both  as  regards  channels 
and  docks. 

Mr.  Nixon  put  forth  plans,  as  early  as  1896,  for  building  docks 
from  St.  George  to  the  Narrows  along  the  Staten  Island  waterfront 
and  also  for  the  development  of  a  great,  new  port  by  means  of  a 
breakwater  half  a  mile  off  the  Staten  Island  shore  below  the  Nar- 
i'oavs,  utilizing  the  great  natural  level  train  parks  extending  back 
from  South  and  Midland  beaches,  the  tracks  to  pass  below  the  high 
grounds  of  the  island's  center  and  across  the  Arthur  Kills  by  bridge 
to  the  continent,  so  saving  congestion  of  the  Metropolitan  District 
and  useless  and  expensive  handling  of  goods  intended  for  the  rest  of 
the  country. 

Lewis  Nixon,  then  actively  engaged  in  his  profession  as  naval 
architect,  aided  in  the  designs  and  superintended  the  construction  of 
the  passenger  steamships  "St.  Louis"  and  "St.  Paul,"  vessels  which 
have  been  in  continued  service  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  and 
which,  during  their  time,  were  the  fastest  transatlantic  liners  afloat 
and  which  have  sent  to  the  scrap  heap  their  foreign  rivals  of  same  or 
even  later  time  of  birth. 

Probably  the  greatest  public  achievement  of  Lewis  Nixon  was 
his  designing  the  famous  battleship  "Oregon"  and  other  battleships 
of  the  Oregon  class.  The  "Oregon's"  performance,  when  she  circled 
the  Western  Continent  and  in  record  time  arrived  in  Cuban  waters 
in  time  to  take  part  in  the  bombardment  of  Cervera's  fleet — although 
the  "Oregon"  was,  even  then,  an  "old"  vessel — is  too  well  known  to 
need  repetition  here.  It  is  timely,  however,  to  draw  attention  to 
the    efforts,    that    proved    almost    futile,    to    sink    the    battleship 

—  177  — 


T7 


SEH^EiglfSJg 


17 


XJ 


"Indiana,"  recently,  by  means  of  aerial  bombs  and  shots  from  mod- 
ern battleships,  the  "Indiana"  having  finally  been  declared  obsolete. 
That  the  ships  of  the  Indiana  class  resisted  all  efforts  to  sink  them 
promptly,  under  accurate  fire  of  heavy  guns,  is  a  testimonial  in 
itself  to  the  genius  of  Lewis  Nixon,  who  was  their  designer. 

The  Russian  warship  that  sank  an  enemy's  ship  in  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War,  was  designed  and  built  by  Lewis  Nixon.  He  built  the 
first  seven  submarines  of  the  American  Navy,  the  first  motor  boat 
to  cross  the  ocean  and  the  first  gas-engine  propelled  submarine  de- 
stroyers and  he  originated  the  first  depth-bomb,  in  1895. 

Mr.  Nixon  has  built  sailing  boats,  side-wheel  boats  and  screw- 
propeller  boats — from  one  screw  to  six — vessels  of  war  and  of  peace 
of  every  type,  from  the  most  graceful  of  pleasure  yachts  to  great 
battleships. 

He  founded  the  International  Smokeless  Powder  Company  and  the 
Standard  Motor  Company,  both  on  the  waters  of  New  York  Bay. 

Lewis  Nixon  has  spoken  from  New  York  to  California  and  from 
Portland  to  Buenos  Aires  in  favor  of  the  upbuilding  of  our  mer- 
chant marine  on  sound  lines,  insuring  gainful  occupation  and  always 
advocating  the  best  food,  quarters  and  treatment  for  United  States 
seamen. 

Of  Lewis  Nixon's  metal,  a  story  that  has  appeal,  trenches  on 
government  service  back  to  the  time  when  official  Washington  was 
worrying  over  burdens  taken  on  in  administration  of  San  Domingo 
customs  supervision.  Foreign  creditors  were  making  it  plain  that 
they  cared  more  for  interest  payments  than  excuses,  reciting  how 
smuggling  genius  was  dodging  tax-collecting  custom  houses.  It 
was  determined  forthwith  to  police  the  coast. 

"We  must  have  four  revenue  cutters  right  away,"  it  was  decided 
by  uniformed  commanders,  sitting  at  the  department  desks.  But 
naval  constructors  with  prompt  unanimity  parried  the  calls.  Not 
one  could  be  found  who  would  agree  to  meet  specified  demands — the 
conspicuous  specification  item  being  that  there  should  be  delivery 
of  all  the  boats  simultaneously,  and  within  ninety  days.  Lewis 
Nixon  (constructor  of  the  famous  White  Fleet) — the  man  of  whom 
William  0.  Whitney  has  said :  "There  is  only  one  reason  why  he 
ought  not  to  be  the  Navy's  head — within  a  year  he  would  work  the 
whole  outfit  to  death,  admirals,  seamen  and  all" — this  same  Lewis 
Nixon  was  mentioned  by  somebody  as  a  likely  helper  out  of  the 
dilemma. 

"Telephone  his  office,"  commanded  the  official  order-giver. 

"That  means  that  we've  got  to  find  his  hat,"  was  cynicalism's 
answer. 


-  178 


w 

VJ 

VJ 

-8- 

-6- 

\  / 


-©--e- 


-6-^^^^ 


lint  Washington  found  Nixon. 

"Yon  want  four  boats  built — and  want  them  all  in  three  months. 
All  right,  you  can  have  them."  As  to  cost,  there  was  no  limit  laid. 
"But  let  us  be  definite,"  insisted  Mr.  Nixon.  "Let  everything  be 
agreed  upon  before  we  start."  He  summoned  members  of  his  old 
staff  of  the  Crescent  Shipyards.  Figuring  took  days.  "The  price 
will  be  so  much,"  Mr.  Nixon  communicated  to  Washington,  and  then 
he  went  over  to  Perth  Amboy  and  hired  a  plant  he  knew  about  to  go 
ahead — discovering  as  he  started  that  basic  sections  of  machinery 
had  just  been  removed.  Incidents  like  that  only  expedited.  And  a 
corner  that  developed  in  shipbuilding  materials  was  no  more  a  dis- 
courager. 

Four  new  revenue  cutters  were  in  the  water  and  on  the  way  to 
smuggler  curing  before  the  ninety  days  were  over,  although  Mr. 
Nixon  cheerfully  stood  a  loss  of  $50,000  on  the  contract.  But  he 
had  given  his  word  and  Mr.  Nixon's  word  means  everything  the 
four  letters  imply. 

The  foregoing  anecdote  was  written  for  a  New  York  newspaper 
last  3rear  by  a  commentator  who  kneAv  Lewis  Nixon  well  and  he 
ended  his  tribute  to  the  great  American  naval  architect  by  saying: 

"In  the  recent  years  he  (Nixon)  has  had  intimacy  with  the  con- 
struction side  of  government  work,  has  performed  a  lot  of  unex- 
ploited  service,  has  been  called  often  to  make  business  sacrifice  to 
help  out  pretentious  officialdom;  has  been  drafted  into  self-abnega- 
tion a  whole  lot,  which  nobody  is  ever  likely  to  hear  him  murmur 
over.  Murmuring  is  not  the  Nixon  way.  His  habit  is  to  take  for- 
tune as  fortune  comes  along,  a  medal  to  be  accepted  or  a  fight  to 
be  fought  sans  any  sort  of  shamming." 

One  of  the  last  acts  of  Lewis  Nixon  as  an  official  in  the  Cramp 
yard,  where  he  superintended  the  construction  of  the  battleships 
he  himself  had  designed  as  a  United  States  Naval  Constructor,  was 
his  trip  on  the  trial  of  the  battleship  "Indiana,"  off  the  Delaware 
Capes,  in  March,  1894,  as  chief  constructor  of  the  Cramps.  Two 
3'ears  later  he  was  present  during  the  trials  of  the  "Massachusetts," 
also  a  child  of  his  brain,  both  of  which  great  battleships  were  given 
over  as  targets  for  United  States  naval  gunners  and  bombers. 

The  New  York  Herald,  on  May  6,  1920,  referred  to  Mr.  Nixon 
in  these  appreciative  words : 

"On  the  day  of  the  announcement  that.  Governor  Smith  had  se- 
lected Lewis  Nixon  to  be  Public  Service  Commissioner,  the  Navy 
Department  announced  that  the  famous  old  battleship  "Oregon"  had 
become  antiquated  and  would  be  placed  out  of  commission. 


—  179  — 


/2i, 


T7 


jO\ 


X7 


® 


X7 


^ 


"The  ship  which  Mr.  Nixon  designed  has  finished  her  course  and, 
however  secure  is  her  place  in  history,  she  is,  in  fact,  little  more 
than  a  memory. 

"It  is  interesting  to  take  note,  however,  that  the  man,  still  in 
middle  life,  at  the  same  time  embarks  on  new  and  highly  important 
duties ! 

"There  is  something  in  the  synchronism  of  these  two  events — 
the  passing  of  the  old  ship  and  the  entrance  of  her  designer,  while 
at  the  height  of  his  strength,  upon  new  duties — which  might  cause 
bewilderment  to  some  of  the  old  philosophers  who  were  wont  to  be- 
moan the  brevity  of  human  life,  as  compared  with  the  endurance  of 
inanimate  things." 

Educated  as  a  sailor,  Lewis  Nixon  has  given  his  life  and  energy 
to  such  measures  as  would  carry  our  flag  afloat  on  men-of-war  and 
merchant  vessels  to  all  the  seven  seas  under  conditions  insuring  re- 
spect, both  as  concerns  the  might  and  majesty  of  our  government 
and  as  to  service  for  the  world's  welfare. 

DANIEL   COY  CHASE 

A    MAN  of  long  and  valuable  experience  in   shipping  and  har- 
bor activities,   and  who  has   filled   many   important    positions 
in  railway  service  in  business  life,  and  in  the  public  affairs  of 
his  state  and  city,  is  Captain  Daniel  Coy  Chase,  of  South  Amboy, 
New  Jersey. 

Captain  Chase  was  appointed  by  Governor  Robert  S.  Green,  in 
1889,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Commissioners  of  Pilotage  of 
New  Jersey,  and  in  189-t  he  was  elected  president  of  that  board, 
which  position  he  continued  to  fill  until  his  retirement  in  April, 
1906.  Throughout  the  period  of  seventeen  years  Captain  Chase 
manifested  a  very  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Board  of 
Pilot  Commissioners  as  well  as  that  of  the  Pilots'   Association. 


180 


ATLANTIC  MUTUAL  INSURANCE 

COMPANY 

THIS  Company,  whose  business  is  that  of  Marine  and  Inland 
Transportation  Insurance,  is  the  oldest  organization  for  this 
class  of  insurance  chartered  by  the  State  of  New  York.  It  was 
chartered  in  the  year  184-2  to  succeed  a  stock  company  by  the 
name  of  the  Atlantic  Insurance  Company  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  business. 

Formerly  located  at  the  corner  of  Wall  Street  and  Hanover 
Place  in  the  old  Merchants  Exchange  Building,  the  Company  pur- 
chased in  the  year  1851  the  property  at  the  corner  of  Wall  and 
William  Streets,  on  which  wras  constructed  a  building  for  its  occu- 
pancy. Subsequent  additional  purchases  to  adjoining  property  were 
made.  In  the  year  1900  the  former  building  was  removed  and  the 
present  structure,  bounded  by  Wall  Street,  William  Street  and 
Exchange  Place,  with  entrances  on  each  of  the  streets  indicated, 
was  erected  for  the  use  of  the  Company.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
the  Company  has  since  its  organization  been  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  and  for  the  past  seventy  years  on  its  present  site, 
51  Wall  Street. 

Actuated  by  motives  of  justice  and  liberality  in  construing  its 
policy  obligations,  the  Company's  business  has  been  extensive,  and 
its  aid  to  the  commerce  of  the  country  of  a  most  important  char- 
acter. Since  its  organization  it  has  granted  insurances  in  excess 
of  $34,000,000,  producing  premiums  of  $335,000,000,  and  has 
paid  losses  of  $165,000,000. 

Being  a  Mutual  Company,  the  profits  of  the  business  are 
divided  annually  amongst  the  policy  holders  in  the  form  of  Scrip 
Dividends.  Until  redeemed  the  Scrip  bears  interest,  and  from  the 
earliest  date  the  rate  of  interest  has  been  6%  per  annum.  The 
Scrip  at  present  unredeemed  is  that  issued  in  the  years  1920  and 
1921. 

The  Company  has  as  its  object  the  promotion  of  commercial 
interests  rather  than  gain  in  trade,  and  the  business  community 
is  fortunate  in  having  included  in  its  insurance  facilities  a  Com- 
pany of  the  high  standing  and  financial  strength  of  the  "old 
Atlantic,"  as   it   is   affectionately   designated. 


—  181 


THE  UNITED  FRUIT  COMPANY'S 
GREAT  WHITE  FLEET 

IT  IS  a  far  cry  from  1866  to  1921  and  the  years  between  have 
seen   the  work!   advance   in   every   line   of   human   endeavor,   not 

the  least  of  which  is  shipping.  According  to  available  records 
ships  first  brought  bananas  from  the  West  Indies  into  the  port  of 
New  York  commercially  in  the  year  1866.  But  the  vessels  engaged  in 
the  trade  in  those  days  were  far  different  from  the  fine  refrigerator 
passenger  and  freight  steamers  which  comprise  the  United  Fruit 
Company's  modern  "Great  White  Fleet"  and  which  today  are  such 
important  factors  in  our  marine  and  commercial  activities. 

Incorporated  in  1899  and  having  its  inception  in  the  Boston 
Fruit  Company  founded  in  1885  by  Andrew  W.  Preston,  the 
marine  history  of  the  United  Fruit  Company  illustrates  typically 
the  world's  progress  in  steamship  construction  and  operation. 
In  1899  the  company's  owned  tonnage  was  5,000.  Today  the 
United  Fruit  Company's  fleet  is  composed  of  thirty-three  owned 
ships  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  140,000  which,  combined  with 
the  fleet  of  its  English  subsidiary,  Elders  &  Fyffes,  Ltd.,  con- 
sisting of  sixteen  owned  ships  with  a  total  tonnage  of  8-1,700, 
makes  a  grand  total  of  forty-nine  owned  ships  with  an  aggregate 
tonnage  of  approximately  225,000. 

In  addition  to  its  owned  fleet  the  Company  ordinarily  operates 
about  twenty   chartered  vessels. 

The  distinctive  name  "Great  White  Fleet"  has  become  a 
household  word  with  the  traveling  public  of  America  and  the 
sign  manual  of  dispatch  and  service  among  shippers.  Of  the 
thirty-three  steamships  owned  by  the  company,  nineteen  are  refrig- 
erator banana  cargo  ships  with  passenger  accommodations,  eight 
are  refrigerator  banana  cargo  ships,  one  is  a  non-refrigerator 
banana  cargo  ship,  one  is  an  oil  tanker  and  four  are  sugar  cargo 
vessels.  One  new  refrigerator  banana  cargo  ship  with  electric 
drive  is  in  service  and  four  new  refrigerator  banana  cargo  and  pas- 
senger ships  are  being  built  for  its  English  fleet,  bringing  the  latter 
fleet  up  to  a  total  of  nineteen  steamships,  of  which  six  are  refrigera- 
tor banana  cargo  ships  with  passenger  accommodations  and  the 
balance  refrigerator  banana  cargo  ships.  Usually  the  Company 
operates  about  ninety  steamships  in  connection  with  its  business 
(including  its   chartered  steamers  and  English  fleet). 

Most  of  the  ships  of  the  "Great  White  Fleet"  today  fly  the 
American  flag  and  during  the  past  ten  years  it  has  had  the  dis- 
tinction  of   carrying  560,000   passengers   and    moving   13,960,000 


tons    of   freight. 


—  182 


o 

re 

r-4- 

a- 
a 

«> 

00 

«. 

a 

a. 

a. 


o 

Co 


a 

cr. 

9 

tfl 

Hi 

<^ 

hrf 

> 

Zfi 

a- 

H 

r-+- 

O 

re 

P3 

*H 

W 

TO 

m 

re 

re 


re 


o 

3 

a 


.r\. 

W 

W 

17 

^^[Q; 

VJ 

T7[t7 

EI  EL 

The  ships  of  the  ''Great  White  Fleet"  are  built  particularly 
for  services  in  tropical  waters,  the  comfort  and  safety  of  pas- 
sengers being  especially  provided  for.  The  passenger  accommoda- 
tions are  unexcelled ;  the  staterooms  are  large  and  spacious  and 
many  have  private  baths ;  the  cuisine  is  equal  to  that  of  the  best 
hotels.  These  steamships  furnish  regular  passenger,  mail  and 
freight  service  between  the  Atlantic  ports  of  the  United  States 
and  Cuba,  Jamaica  and  the  Atlantic  ports  of  Central  America  and 
Colombia  and  through  the  connecting  lines  at  the  Panama  Canal 
with  the  west  coast  ports  of  South  America.  In  other  words  the 
''Great  White  Fleet'"  directly  serves  nine  countries  of  the  Western 
Hemisphere  and  is  a  prime  factor  in  the  commerce  of  twenty-three 
nations  of  that  hemisphere. 

Each  week  sees  at  least  four  ships  flying  the  United  Fruit 
Company's  house  flag  arrive  at  or  depart  from  the  Port  of  New 
York,  and  frequently  the  number  is  greater.  In  addition  to  its 
service  from  New  York  the  company  maintains  passenger  and 
freight  services  from  Boston  and  New  Orleans  and  freight  service 
from  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Mobile.  Thus  in  twenty  years 
the  Carribean  region  has  been  brought  so  closely  in  touch  with 
the  United  States,  and  local  communication  has  been  so  vastly 
improved,  that  today  it  offers  few  perplexities  to  the  traveler  or 
shipper. 

All  ships  of  the  "Great  White  Fleet"  are  equipped  with  the  most 
modern  and  up-to-date  means  of  radio  communication  and  the  Com- 
pany has  established  a  chain  of  high-powered  radio  stations  in 
Colombia,  Costa  Rica,  Honduras,  Nicaragua,  Panama  and  Swan 
Island,  with  a  United  States  terminal  located  at  New  Orleans  and 
smaller  stations  at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  Burrwood,  Louisiana. 
As  a  consequence  its  ships  are  constantly  in  touch  with  each  other 
and  with  the  shore,  a  most  important  factor  in  any  marine 
organization. 

Forty-two  United  Fruit  Company  ships  (including  the  larger 
part  of  its  English  fleet)  were  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Allies  carrying  troops  and  supplies  during  the  Great 
War.  Of  this  number  thirteen  were  lost  and  have  since  been  re- 
placed by  newer  and  larger  ships. 


Fel 


T7 


—  184- 


NORTON,  LILLY  &  COMPANY 

THE  earliest  records  in  the  possession  of  tin's  firm  show  trans- 
actions made  in  the  vear  1841  by  John  Norton,  the  founder 
of  the  business. 

After  carrying  on  a  ship  brokerage  business  for  many  years, 
about  1857  a  line  of  sailing  packets  to  River  Plate  ports  was  estab- 
lished, known  as  The  Norton  Line  to  South  America. 

Later,  about  1870,  the  firm  established  a  line  of  sailers  to  South 
African  ports,  known  as  The  Norton  Line  to   South  Africa. 

In  1893  steamers  took  the  place  of  sailing  vessels  in  both  of 
these  trades,  and  the  lines  carried  on  under  the  names  of:  The  Nor- 
ton Line  of  Steamers,  and  The  American  &  African  S.  S.  Line. 

Within  the  next  few  years,  the  firm  established  themselves  in 
trades  all  over  the  world,  founding,  in  addition  to  the  lines  already 
established,  the  American  &  Indian  Line,  American  &  Australian 
Line,  American  &  Manchurian  Line  and  American  Levant  Line. 

The  members  of  the  present  firm  are:  Skeffington  S.  Norton, 
Joseph  T.  Lilly,  John  B.  O'Reilly,  John  J.  Farrell,  Edward  J.  Bran- 
dreth,  and  William  J.  Edwards.  The  firm  acts  as  general  agents 
for  the  following  steamship  Lines : 

Norton  Line  American  &  Manchurian  Line 

Panama-Far  East  Line  Atlantic-Gulf  Far  East  Line 

American  &  Indian  Line  Ellerman  &  Bucknall  S.  S.  Co.  Ltd. 

American  &  African  Line  American-Mediterranean-Levant    Line 

Isthmian  Steamship  Lines  Societe  Generale  de  Transports, 

American  &  Australian  Line  Maritimes  a  Vapeur 

Their  main  office  is  at  26  Beaver  Street,  New  York  City,  with 
branch  offices  in  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Newport  News, 
New  Orleans,  Chicago,  San  Diego,  Los  Angeles,  San  Francisco, 
Portland  and  Seattle. 


BENJAMIN  MOORE  &  CO. 

THE  present  business  of  Benjamin  Moore  &  Co.  was  originally 
started  by  Moore  &  Morrissey,  ship  chandlers,  in  1774,  at  the 
location  where  Pine  and  Pearl  Streets  are  now,  but  which  in 
those  days  was   on   the  immediate  water  front.      The   concern   con- 
tinued as  above  without  change  until  the  year  1812,  when  Mr.  Mor- 
rissey died,  and  the  firm  reorganized  as  Benjamin  Moore  &  Co. 

The  firm's  business  is  now  under  the  direction  of  Charles  H.  Um- 
land,  as  president ;  John  Seikel,  secretary,  and  Charles  H.  Umland, 
Jr.,  treasurer,  and  numbers  among  its  customers  many  of  the  old- 
time  concerns,  for  whom  they  have  made  sails,  etc.,  for  over  fifty 
years. 

—  185  — 


EXPANSION  OF  AMERICAN  CABLES 

CO-INCIDENT  with  the  growth  of  the  purely  maritime  interests 
of  the  port  of  New  York  have  been  other  interests  which  have 
developed  quite  as  rapidly  and  without  which  the  port  could 
never  have  reached  the  commanding  position  it  now  occupies.  Of 
these,  the  cable  companies  whose  lines  reach  out  to  all  corners  of  the 
earth  and  act  as  what  might  well  be  termed  the  nerve  system  of 
Foreign  Commerce,  are  important  factors. 

Patiently  and  persistently  the  different  companies  are  ever 
working  to  extend  cable  service  to  every  trade  port  in  the  four 
corners  of  the  globe.  Each  year  records  the  opening  of  many  new 
offices. 

Another  link  was  recently  added  to  the  chain  with  the  announce- 
ment by  All  American  Cables,  Inc.,  of  the  opening  of  their  new  ex- 
tension to  Porto  Rico.  This  latest  achievement — the  completion  of 
the  first  American  cable  to  Porto  Rico — represents  but  a  step  in  the 
policy  of  the  company  to  offer  adequate  cable  facilities  to  every 
important  city  in  Latin  America  and,  there,  to  knit  more  closely 
together  the  peoples  of  the  three  Americas.  Other  extensions  that 
have  also  been  made  recently  are  those  between  Guayaquil,  Ecuador, 
and  Lima,  Peru;  Colon  and  Cartagena,  Colombia;  Buenos  Aires  and 
Rio  de  Janeiro ;  Buenos  Aires  and  Santos ;  and  between  New  York 
and  Santiago  de  Cuba. 

In  discussing  the  present  conditions  of  the  company,  President 
John  L.  Merrill  spoke  particularly  of  its  remarkable  growth  during 
the  last  few  years. 

"The  All  American  cables  system  of  today  embraces  the  Mexican 
Telegraph  Company  and  the  Central  and  South  American  Telegraph 
Company.  The  former  was  established  in  1879  and  the  latter  in 
1881.  The  name  All  America  (often  misspelled  All  American) 
was  chosen  as  the  most  fitting  phrase  to  designate  a  service  dedi- 
cated primarily  to  the  needs  of  the  three  Americas — South,  Central 
and  North.  All  America  Cables  now  has  more  than  23,000  statute 
miles  of  submarine  telegraph  lines  and  more  than  3,000  miles  of 
landlines. 

"In  the  fifteen  countries  served  by  the  two  component  parts  of 
All  America  Cables,  Inc.,  there  are  maintained  forty-four  offices, 
manned  by  trained  commercial  and  technical  staffs.  Skilled  workers 
watch  over  the  efficiency  of  office  apparatus  and  landlines ;  a  fleet  of 
cable  ships  is  constantly  cruising  the  high  sea  lanes,  ready  for  any 
emergency. 

"All  America  Cables  is  proud  of  its  physical  and  mechanical 
equipments ;  it  is  more  than  proud  of  its  personnel,  because  it  is  to 
the  members  of  our  staff  that  we  must  look  for  that  spirit  which  is 
+he  essence  of  Service. 

—  186  — 


C3 


X 


2     ~ 

a      I—. 


-e-e-e-e-e-ets-e-e-e' 


JZ\ 


\7 


£\ 


\J 


JZ\ 


W 


^ 


LU 


/T\ 


U 


M&^ 


XT 


^^-e- 


'"To  this  Spirit  of  Service  we  attribute  the  record  of  Achievement 
of  the  last  forty  years — a  record  which  reveals  constantly  broaden- 
ing range  of  activity,  constantly  increasing  speed  and  accuracy  in 
the  transmission  of  messages  entrusted  to  us,  and  a  steadily  dimin- 
ishing cost. 

"Cablegrams  are  now  being  sent  from  the  New  York  office  to 
Buenos  Aires  without  retransmission  by  hand.  That  means  that 
despatches  travel  7,452  miles  purely  by  automatic  methods,  Avithout 
the  intervention  of  a  single  operator. 

"This  is  done  in  a  very  few  minutes — a  record  of  speed. 

"Our  struggle  to  reduce  the  cost  of  cabling  has  resulted  in  ac- 
complishments similarly  astonishing.  When  the  system  opened  its 
offices  in  Buenos  Aires  the  rate  per  word  was  $7.50.  Now  the  rate 
from  New  York  to  the  capital  of  the  Argentine  is  but  fifty  cents  a 
word  for  messages  sent  on  regular  schedule,  and  only  twenty-five 
cents  a  word  for  those  sent  on  a  deferred  time  schedule.  The  fifty- 
cent  basis  for  messages  to  Buenos  Aires  was  achieved  in  December, 
1917,  and  the  announcement  of  the  change,  at  a  time  when  the 
prices  for  all  other  services  were  mounting,  was  enthusiastically  re- 
ceived by  the  governments  and  peoples  of  the  three  Americas. 

"The  All  America  Cables  of  today  is  the  evolution  of  an  idea. 
Its  directors  and  executive  officers  have  a  purpose  founded  upon  a 
sincere  belief  that  the  commercial,  political,  and  strategic  interests 
of  the  Americas  can  best  be  served  by  an  American-owned  and 
operated  system  of  communication.  Trade  development  is  depend- 
ent upon  ships  and  cables.  Political  progress  hinges  upon  the 
proper  understanding  of  one  nation  by  another,  and  this  can  be 
attained  more  readily  through  interchange  of  cables  of  daily  news. 

"In  faithfully  pursuing  our  purpose,  in  steadfastly  holding  our- 
selves ready  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the  Americas,  and  of  the 
world,  we  believe  we  are  serving  a  high  ideal." 

The  home  office  of  the  All  America  Cables,  Inc.,  is  located  in 
its  own  building  at  89  Broad  treet,  New  York  City. 


—  188  — 


— 


to     trj 

3    P 


a, 

Co 


> 


en 


3 


FUNCH,  EDYE  &  COMPANY,  Inc. 

ON  MAY  1st,  1847,  the  firm  of  Fuhch  &  Meincke  was  organ- 
ized by  C.  F.  Funeh,  a  Dane,  and  Captain  C.  Meincke,  also  a 
Dane,  with  offices  at  the  southeasterly  corner  of  Wall  and 
Water  streets,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  a  ship  brokerage 
business.  In  1859,  Mr.  A.  Wendt,  who  had  extensive  German  con- 
nections, was  admitted  to  membership  of  the  firm  and  its  name 
changed  to  Funch,  Meincke  &  Wendt,  and  offices  removed  to  the 
corner  of  Beaver  and  William  Streets.  The  new  member  influenced 
the  consignment  of  a  large  number  of  sailing  vessels  under  the  Ger- 
man flag  and  registering  from  the  various  ports  in  the  Baltic. 
These  latter  became  quite  numerous  and  active  in  the  Trans-Atlantic 
trade  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Crimean  War.  In  1867,  Mr.  Wendt 
who  had  suffered  a  severe  breakdown  in  health  retired  from  the 
firm,  and  in  consequence  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Funch. 
Meincke  &  Co.,  and  offices  were  removed  to  14  South  William  Street. 
The  business  expanded  very  rapidly,  and  consisted  principally  of 
handling  vessels  under  the  German  and  Scandinavian  flags.  Shortly 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Meincke  in  March,  1869,  Mr.  Funch  asso- 
ciated himself  with  Mr.  H.  W.  0.  Edye  (the  latter  having  con- 
ducted a  similar  business  in  New  York  under  the  firm  name  of  Robt. 
M.  Sloman  &  Edye,  and  later  as  Edye  &  Brock)  under  the  style 
of  Funch,  Edye  &  Co.,  and  offices  were  taken  at  27  South  William 
Street,  where  they  remained  located  for  25  years  later.  The  busi- 
ness increased  very  rapidly,  and  at  times  during  1879-81  as  many 
as  150  vessels  under  Scandinavian,  Russian,  German,  Italian  and 
Austrian  and  British  flags  were  in  port  at  one  time  to  the  firm's 
consignment.  In  1871  steamers  were  added  to  the  consignment  and 
in  consequence  of  a  large  number  of  sailing  vessels  having  been 
loaded  on  the  berth  to  various  Belgian,  Scandinavian,  Holland  and 
German  ports,  these  activities  were  gradually  transferred  to 
steamers.  In  1872  the  Red  Cross  Line  was  inaugurated  with 
steamers  under  the  Belgian  flag  and  carried  on  a  regular  service 
between  Antwerp  and  New  York.  Later  the  Eagle  Line  which 
operated  with  general  cargo  between  New  York  and  Stettin  and 
was  subsequently  merged  with  the  Hamburg  American  Line,  for 
which  the  firm  also  became  freight  agents.  In  further  development 
of  liner  business  the  firm  acted  as  agents  of  the  Netherlands  Ameri- 
can S.  S.  Company,  now  known  as  Holland  American  Line;  Thing- 
valla  Line,  later  absorbed  by  Det  Forende  Dampskibs  Selskab  and 
styled  the  Scandinavian  American  Line;  the  Nouvelle  Cie  Bordelaise 
de  Navigation  a  Vapeur;  United  Tyser  Line;  U.  S.  &  Java  Line; 
LT.  S.  &  China  Japan  Line:  IT.  S.  &  Brazil:  Hansa  Line  to  South 

—  190  — 


w 

\  / 

w 

w 

.1  \ 

w 

\  1 

"0" 

\  / 

U 

w 

^-6*^ 


<^> 


\y 


/  ., 


XJ 


/    V 


T7 


-e-e- 


T7 


fX 


\/ 


% 


■  I 


Africa;  Hansa  Line  to  India;  Royal  West  India  Mail.  In  1915  all 
connections  with  German  Lines  were  severed  and  such  services  were 
replaced  by  steamers  under  British  and  Holland  flags.  In  1917,  on 
January  1st,  the  firm  was  incorporated  and  is  continued  as  Fundi, 
Edye  &  Company,  Inc. 

SUSQUEHANNA  STEAMSHIP  CO.,  Inc. 

THE  SUSQUEHANNA  STEAMSHIP  CO.,  INC.,  Mas  incorpo- 
rated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1917. 
Their  first  steamer  was  the  S.  S.  "Susquehanna."     After  ex- 
tensive repairs  and  reconditioning-  was  done  this  steamer  was  started 
in  the  Transatlantic  General  Cargo  Trade,  and  was  the  nucleus  of 
a  very  extensive  and  flourishing  steamship  business. 

Shortly  after  the  acquisition  of  this  steamer  she  was  requisi- 
tioned by  the  United  States  Government  and  was  used  for  war  pur- 
poses until  December,  1918.  After  her  return  she  was  again  put 
into  the  Transatlantic  Trade. 

In  1919  the  Steamers  "Lydia"  "Redondo"  and  "Sacramento" 
were  acquired  and  were  also  put  into  the  General  Transatlantic 
Cargo  Trade,  under  the  operation  of  the  Susquehanna  Steamship 
Co. 

In  the  early  part  of  1921  the  Company  acquired  the  Baltic 
Service  berth  and  were  allocated  steamers  by  the  United  States 
Shipping  Board  for  operation  in  this  trade  and  they  have  success- 
fully covered  this  route  and  improved  and  increased  its  efficiency. 

The  officers  of  this  company  are  Mr.  Frank  Auditore,  President,, 
who  is  one  of  the  successful  business  men  in  the  steamship  business  ; 
his  brother,  Joseph  Auditore,  was  associated  with  him  until  his  death 
in  May,  1920.  In  1920  Mr.  Joseph  D.  Phillips,  who  is  a  well  known 
steamship  man  of  many  years,  joined  the  organization  as  vice-presi- 
dent and  general  manager,  and  in  March,  1921,  Mr.  John  B.  Austin, 
Jr.,  joined  the  organization  in  charge  of  the  Baltic  Service.  Mr. 
Joseph  G.  Stockham,  Secretary,  has  been  associated  with  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  brother  for  the  past  sixteen  years,  and  is  one  of  the 
well  known  shipping  men  down-town  having  been  in  the  steamship 
business  for  the  past  thirty-three  years. 

This  Company  will  be  one  of  the  largest  factors  in  the  steamship 
business  as  time  rolls  on  and  we  wish  them  every  success. 


Itt 

—  191 


CHARLES  H.  "POTTER 

CHARLES  H.  POTTER  has  been  actively  associated  with  the 
shipping  industry  for  the  past  thirty-three  years.  In  the  year 
1886  he  entered  the  employ  of  Parsons  &  Barnes,  ship  brokers, 
36  South  Street,  New  York ;  in  1889  Captain  Cyrus  W.  Chadwick, 
a  well-known  ship  master,  and  Mr.  Potter  organized  the  firm  of 
Chadwick  &  Potter  to  transact  a  general  ship  brokerage  business, 
which  partnership  continued  up  to  1899,  in  which  year  Mr.  Potter 
sold  out  his  interest  and  joined  the  Luckenbach  Steamship  Com- 
pany ;  after  seventeen  years'  continuous  service  with  the  Lucken- 
bach interests,  Mr.  Potter  resigned  and  organized  the  Potter  Steam- 
ship Company,  Inc.,  and  the  Potter  Transportation  Company,  Inc., 
of  which  companies  he  is  the  President,  located  at  11  Broadway, 
New  York  City. 

Mr.  Potter  was  elected  President  of  the  United  States  Ship 
Operators"  Association  in  October,  1919,  and  re-elected  for  second 
term  in  1920.  This  Association  was  formed  in  1919  to  "promote 
and  advance  the  economical  management  and  operation  of  American 
vessels,  government  owned  and  otherwise ;  to  co-operate  with  the 
United  States  government  officials  and  to  facilitate  the  administra- 
tion of  its  bureaus  having  jurisdiction  over  maritime  matters;  to 
work  for  the  improvement  of  laws,  regulations  and  rulings  and  to 
secure  uniformity  in  customs  and  usages  in  relation  thereto :  to  dif- 
fuse accurate  marine  information  and  to  strengthen  and  enlarge 
friendly  intercourse  between  men  engaged  in  and  about  ships  and 
shipping ;  to  the  end  that  the  Merchant  Marine  of  the  United  States 
may  attain  its  greatest  efficiency." 

Mr.  Potter,  in  April.  1920,  was  elected  to  serve  two  years  as  a 
Director  of  the  Maritime  Association  of  the  Port  of  New  York, 
resigning  in  1921  to  assume  the  duties  of  Vice-President,  to  which 
office  he  was  elected.  Owing  to  the  death  of  President  F.  F.  Boul- 
fon  in  August,  1921,  Mr.  Potter  was  called  on  to  assume  the  duties 
of  President  of  the  Association. 

Mr.  Potter  is  an  ardent  worker  for  an  American  Merchant 
Marine,  serving  on  various  committees  working  in  conjunction  with 
the  U.  S.  Shipping  Board. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  New  York  Board  of  Trade  and  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation. 


T7         T7 


—  192  — 


THE  SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN 

LINE 

SERVICE  has  been  the  constant  keynote  of  the  United  Steam- 
ship Company  of  Copenhagen  ever  since  its  inception.  And 
the  growth  and  steadily  perfected  development  of  this  ideal 
of  service  is  strikingly  shown  in  its  present  important  position. 

Favored  today,  alike  by  those  who  cross  the  Atlantic  for  pleas- 
ure and  for  business,  the  Scandinavian-American  Line — the  descrip- 
tive name  under  which  the  company  operates  its  passenger  service 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Scandinavian  countries — typifies 
everything  that  makes  ocean  travel  a  delight. 

Any  sketch  of  the  Scandinavian-American  Line  and  its  fleet  of 
commodious  comfortable  ships  would  be  incomplete  without  a  brief 
mention  of  the  various  stages  of  the  company's  history.  We  believe 
you  will  find  this  condensed  history  of  interest. 

Amalgamating  several  smaller  shipping  firms,  the  United  Steam- 
ship Company  of  Copenhagen  was  formed  in  1866  and  began  busi- 
ness the  following  year.  With  a  fleet  of  22  steamships,  having  a 
total  register  tonnage  of  4,919  tons  net,  regular  routes  were  main- 
tained between  the  various  ports  in  Denmark,  and  in  addition,  to 
Kiel,  Stettin,  Koenigsberg,  Antwerp,  London,  Hull,  several  Norwe- 
gian ports,  the  Faroe  Islands  and  Iceland. 

Noting  the  dates  that  follow,  marking  the  most  decisive  advances 
in  a  very  rapid  growth,  enables  you  to  get  a  clear  idea  of  the  ever- 
increasing  importance  of  this  company. 

1875  saw  the  completion  of  the  harbor  of  Esbjerg,  on  the  west 
coast  of  Jutland,  and  with  it  the  regular  operation  of  a  line  of 
steamships  between  that  port  and  England. 

1880  was  the  date  of  still  further  expansion,  when  the  important 
export  routes  for  agricultural  products,  between  Copenhagen  and 
Newcastle,  England,  were  taken  over.  This  was  followed  closely  by 
the  acquisition  of  still  other  routes  between  Danish  provincial  ports 
and  Newcastle.  And  it  is  noteworthy,  that  since  1884  the  handling 
of  Danish  agricultural  exports  to  England  (with  the  exception  of 
the  route  between  Copenhagen  and  Leith)  has  been  taken  care  of 
solely  by  this  company. 

1882,  shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Ship  Canal, 
the  company  again  broadened  its  activities,  and  a  line  of  steamships 
was  put  in  operation  between  Antwerp  and  St.  Petersburg. 

1883  was  likewise  an  important  development  year.  It  saw  the 
extension  of  the  company's  service  to  Havre  as  a  port  of  regular 
call ;  and  a  still  further  extension  of  its  service  to  Mediterranean 
ports. 

1886  was  another  progressive  year,  when  a  route  to  Hamburg 
was  established ;  and  one  between  Antwerp  and  Riga. 

—  193  — 


XJ 


re- 


ZZ\ 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


T7*fr 


A 


XJ 


M§M§ 


^■e-e-e-©-^ 


1887  opened  up  still  other  new  routes — one  to  Hangd  (Finland) 
and  one  to  Oporto-Lisbon,  with  the  extension  of  this  route  to  Ma- 
deira in  1893. 

1895  marked  an  epoch  in  the  company's  history.  Busy  as  they 
had  been  up  to  this  time,  in  developing  their  many  European  routes, 
attention  was  now  turned  to  the  development  of  the  company's  first 
route  between  Copenhagen  and  United  States  ports.  Six  big  steam- 
ships were  built  and  named  "Kentucky,"  "Arkansas,"  "Louisiana," 
"Florida,"  "Alabama"  and  "Texas."  These  steamships  plied  be- 
tween Copenhagen  and  New  Orleans,  and  in  addition  to  great  cargo 
capacities  provided  accommodations  for  a  limited  number  of  cabin 
passengers. 

1898  witnessed  still  more  important  developments,  for  in  this 
year  the  company  took  over  the  "Thingvalla  Line,"  a  long-estab- 
lished passenger  service  line  between  Copenhagen  and  New  York. 
With  the  accession  of  this  line,  immediate  steps  were  taken  to  put 
its  trans-oceanic  service  on  the  highest  plane  of  efficiency.  New 
twin-screw  steamers  of  the  most  modern  type  were  built  expressly  for 
this  service  between  Scandinavian  ports  and  New  York. 

1899  the  company  established  a  regular  service  between  Boston 
and  Copenhagen. 

1903-1904  initiated  the  opening  of  regular  sailings  between 
Scandinavian  ports  and  Philadelphia,  Newport  News  and  Baltimore. 

1907  saw  still  another  addition  to  the  company's  service,  with 
the  establishment  of  the  line  to  Buenos  Aires,  South  America. 

And  as  a  result  of  this  steady  progress,  of  this  intelligent  ex- 
pansion of  its  service,  by  the  end  of  1913  the  company's  fleet  in- 
cluded 130  steamships  and  14  seagoing  lighters,  with  a  total  gross 
tonnage  of  177,290  tons. 

1914  the  service  of  the  Company's  Lines  was  still  further  aug- 
mented with  the  commissioning  of  several  new  ships.  The  most  not- 
able of  these  were  the  "California,"  the  largest  vessel  afloat  driven 
bv  Diesel  motor  engines ;  and  the  magnificent  passenger  steamer 
"Frederik  VIII." 

The  main  office  of  the  company  is  at  Copenhagen  but  all  matters 
relating  to  American  business  are  disposed  of  by  the  New  York  office 
which  is  located  in  the  Scandinavian-American  Line  Building  at  27 
Whitehall  street.  Agencies  are  maintained  in  Chicago,  Minneapolis, 
Boston,  San  Francisco  and  Seattle. 


T7 


194-  — 


a 

69 

a- 
a- 

© 
s 


a 

69 

s 


^     I— I 

I— « 


s 

a 

a' 
s 


a 
s 


s 


SINCLAIR  NAVIGATION  COMPANY 

SINCLAIR  CONSOLIDATED  OIL  CORPORATION,  founded 
by  H.  F.  Sinclair,  has  become  in  recent  years  an  important 
factor  in  the  development  of  New  York  Harbor.  This  cor- 
poration which  is  engaged  in  all  branches  of  the  petroleum  indus- 
try, has  built  up  an  organization  covering  a  large  part  of  the 
United  States,  and  extending  into  many  foreign  countries. 

The  executive  headquarters  are  in  New  York  City, — housed  in 
one  of  the  finest  "sky  scrapers"  on  the  Island  of  Manhattan,  the 
building  having  been  bought  for  this  purpose  in  1919. 

The  Sinclair  company  was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  one  of 
the  few  remaining  water  front  sites  in  New  York  Harbor.  This 
property,  which  is  known  as  Tremley  Point,  lies  south  of  the 
Bayway  plant  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  of  New  Jersey,  with 
a  frontage  of  about  one  thousand  feet  on  the  Arthur  Kill,  and 
Hvith  ready  access  to  the  trunk  railway  systems  running  out  from 
New  York  on  the  Jersey  mainland.  It  is  not  publicly  known  just 
2iow  extensive  will  be  the  improvements  on  this  valuable  property, 
but  there  has  already  been  established  a  fuel  oil  installation  which 
in  its  design  suggests  that  it  will  eventually  be  a  part  of  a  large 
petroleum  refinery.  In  the  meantime  Sinclair  ships  and  barges 
are  plying  New  York  waters,  and  the  steady  increase  in  these 
activities  indicates  that  New  York  Harbor  will  be  one  of  the  most 
important  centers  of  Sinclair  operations  along  the  Atlantic 
Seaboard. 

The  Sinclair  company  is  strongly  entrenched  in  and  about 
Philadelphia,  as  well  as  in  and  about  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 
One  of  its  subsidiary  companies,  the  Union  Petroleum  Company  of 
Philadelphia,  has  a  large  plant  at  Marcus  Hook,  and  this  terminal 
lias  been  considered  its  chief  exporting  point.  The  Union  Petro- 
leum has  for  years  been  one  of  the  largest  American  exporters  of 
petroleum  products   in  bulk. 

The  volume  of  business  moving  out  of  the  Marcus  Hook  ter- 
minal has  been  growing,  but  shipping  men  have  directed  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  Gulf  ports  are  also  attracting  a  liberal  per- 
centage of  Sinclair  shipments,  due  to  the  strategic  locations  of  its 
refineries  and  terminals  at  New  Orleans  and  on  the  Houston  Ship 
Channel.  On  the  other  hand,  it  should  not  be  overlooked  that 
much  of  the  Sinclair  production  of  crude  oil  in  Mexico  may  logi- 
cally be  expected  to  find  its  way  to  the  Atlantic  Seaboard,  and 
that  in  the  next  few  years  the  Atlantic  ports  may  be  further  helped 
by  the  bringing  in  of  oil  on  the  Sinclair  holdings  in  Costa  Rica 
and  Panama,  and  also  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  The  poten- 
tiality of  these  holdings,  coupled  with  the  rapid  extension  of  Sin- 

—  196  — 


u 

.'   'J 

w 

1  \ 

VJ 

IV 

V\ 

tttt 

V 

i/\ 

T7  u^ 

yr 

(lair  activities  in  Europe,  give  assurance  that  the  Atlantic  coast 
ports   will   figure    largely   in    Sinclair   shipments. 

The  Sinclair  subsidiary  which  owns  and  operates  the  Sinclair 
fleet,  is  the  Sinclair  Navigation  Company.  Most  of  its  tankers 
are  of  the  latest  and  most  improved  design.  The  total  tonnage 
according  to  latest  reports  is  177 ,348  tons  deadweight,  plus  1,009 
gross  tons  of  ocean  going  tugs.  This  fleet  which  has  no  funded 
indebtedness  of  any  kind  against  it  can  handle  from  16,000,000  to 
20,000,000  barrels  of  oil  annually,  according  to  ports  served. 

Most  of  these  tank  ships  were  designed  and  built  under  the 
supervision  of  J.  G.  Johnson,  vice-president  and  director  of  the 
Sinclair   Navigation   Co. 

The  Sinclair  company  also  owns  and  operates  a  number  of  bulk 
oil  tank  barges  of  about  32,000  tons  deadweight.  These  barges 
are  used  at  various  points  of  distribution  in  the  United  States, 
Cuba  and  Mexico. 

In  addition  to  this  fleet  the  Sinclair  Consolidated  Oil  Cor- 
poration and  one  of  its  affiliated  French  companies,  the  Mazout- 
Transports,  have  nearing  completion  two  9,000-ton  tankers  named 
"C.  I.  P."  and  "MOTRIX."  These  boats  will  be  used  exclusively 
in  the  French-American   trade. 


SPIRE  PITOU  &  CO. 

THE  present  firm  of  Spire  Pitou  &  Company,  whose  senior 
partner  is  a  son  of  the  Spire  Pitou  who  for  nearly  fifty 
years  was  in  the  shipping  business  at  17  State  Street,  when 
the  Pilots  Association  had  their  offices  there  and  whose  Pilots 
took  to  sea  the  barrel  oil  sailing  vessels  bound  for  France.  This 
was  at  a  time  when  Mr.  Pitou's  father  shipped  crude  petroleum  to 
France  in  barrels  on  schooners.  Now  the  son  is  chartering  tank 
steamers  to  carry  gasoline  in  bulk.  Some  change  in  business  dur- 
ing forty  years,  but  the  firm  has  only  moved  once  in  that  time 
from  17  State  Street  to  141  Broadway,  where  it  now  is  located. 
Mr.  Spire  Pitou's  partner  is  Mr.  Frederick  G.  Kinscherf  who  has 
also  been  in  the  shipping  business  a  great  many  years.  This  firm 
is  doing  a  general  chartering  business  and  also  acting  as  agents 
for  foreign  vessel  owners.  They  have  close  relations  with  a  great 
many  of  the  biggest  merchants  and  exporters  in  and  out  of  the 
city  and  are  rated   as  a  very  old  and  high-class  firm. 


T7 


T7 


197  — 


SIR  JOSEPH   W.  ISHERWOOD,   'BART 

WHILE,  strictly  speaking,  there  is  no  place  in  the  list  of 
those  who  have  made  the  Port  of  New  York  the  greatest  mari- 
time haven  in  the  world,  for  Sir  Joseph  Isherwood,  Bart.,  at 
the  same  time  it  is  felt  that  no  history  of  New  York  harbor  would 
be  complete  without  fitting  reference  to  the  founder  of  the  Isherwood 
System  of  ship  construction. 

Quite  outside  of  the  commercial  advantages  of  vessels  built  on 
the  Isherwood  longitudinal  system,  such  as  economy  in  building 
and  operation  and  increase  of  cargo  capacity  without  increase  in 
draft,  Sir  Joseph  has  done  something  for  mankind — and  especially 
for  the  men  whose  lives  are  spent  on  the  seven  seas,  that  must 
not  go  unheralded  to  or  unnoticed  by  those  on  shore  who  scan 
these  pages. 

Tank  steamers — the  type  of  vessel  that  came  into  being  in 
comparative  recent  years  when  the  transportation  of  oil  in  bulk 
grew  into  large  proportions — were  considered  a  great  hazard,  not 
only  in  the  matter  of  safety  for  the  cargo  but  safety  for  the 
lives  of  their  crews  as  well.  In  certain  heavy  seas  these  "tankers" 
were  wont  to  have  their  "backs  broken"  through  strain,  and  many 
a  ship  of  this  type  broke  in  two  and  disappeared  without  a  word 
ever  being  heard  from  those  who  had  been  aboard.  It  was  Sir 
Joseph — then  plain  Mr.  Joseph  Isherwood,  expert  surveyor  of 
Lloyd's  Register  of  Shipping  and  a  naval  architect  of  exceptional 
sagacity- — who  hit  upon  the  longitudinal  construction  of  ships 
and  found  that  "tankers"  built  upon  his  plan  would  survive  any 
ordinary  bad  weather  and  would,  even  when  struck  in  a  collision, 
provide  the  maximum  safety   for  the  men  on  board. 

The  great  test  of  the  new  system  came  when  the  world  war 
broke  out ;  when  all  maritime  governments  availed  themselevs  of 
the  Isherwood  system  and  saved  precious  days  by  reason  of  the 
faster  construction  of  oil  carriers  that  were  built  on  the  Isher- 
wood plans.  In  this  way  Sir  Joseph  unquestionably  did  much  to 
help  win  the  war  for  the  Allies  and  also,  be  it  remembered,  saved 
many  hundreds  of  lives  because  the  "Isherwood  ships"  were  safer 
vessels  than  were  ever  built  before. 

It  Avas  in  recognition  of  his  expertness  as  a  naval  architect 
and  the  consequent  aid  he  gave  the  Allies,  apart  from  the  humani- 
tarian side  of  his  research  work,  that  King  George  V  knighted 
the  famous  inventor  and  created  him  a  Baronet  of  the  United 
Kingdom ;  an  honor  which,  in  Sir  Joseph  Isherwood's  case,  was 
highly  merited  and  one  that  has  met  with  approbation  throughout 
the   entire   maritime   world. 

—  198  — 


BA'RBER  &  CO,  INC.,  A*ND  ITS 
SUBSIDIARIES 

WHEN  the  question  of  the  substantia]  and  tested  eminence  of 
Now  York  as  ;i  shipping  center  comes  to  mind,  it  brings  up 
the  thought  of  the  great  enterprises,  long  active,  which  have 
for  years  stood  as  exemplars  of  the  city's  importance  in  maritime 
affairs.  Of  these  none  is  more  representative  or  better  known  than 
the  firm  of  Barber  &  Company,  Inc.,  and  its  subsidiaries. 

Many  years  ago — in  the  early  1880's  to  be  exact — the  "Mon- 
arch Line"  was  inaugurated.  It  was  a  steamship  line,  operating 
between  New  York  and  London.  The  company  owned  five  steamers, 
each  of  about  five  thousand  tons,  deadweight,  and  having  a  speed  of 
from  ten  to  ten  and  a  half  knots.  This  line  was  fostered  and  man- 
aged by  Messrs.  John  Patton,  Jr.,  &  Company,  of  London,  their 
New  York  agency  being  styled  Patton,  Vickers  &  Company.  The 
"Company"  of  this  firm  was  Mr.  Herbert  Barber,  who  had  come 
from  England  to  establish  himself  in  New  York  for  the  purpose  of 
representing  the  Monarch  Line  here.  He  brought  with  him  an  ex- 
cellent equipment  for  that  service,  having  had,  even  at  that  time, 
many  years  of  practical  and  informing  experience  in  the  steamship 
business. 

The  Monarch  Line  was  finally  bought  out  by  other  companies 
in  the  latter  part  of  1886,  and  Herbert  Barber,  together  with  his 
brother  James,  who  had  previously  handled  the  chartering  end  of 
the  business  here,  established  the  firm  of  Barber  &  Company,  in 
January,  1887. 

Several  years  after  the  inception  of  Barber  &  Company,  it  was 
incorporated,  since  which  time  it  has  been  known  as  Barber  &  Co., 
Inc.  Since  that  time  the  growth  of  the  company  has  been  phenom- 
enal, the  business  extending  in  all  directions  until  the  operations  of 
the  Barber  enterprise  have  become  practically  world-wide,  with 
operations  so  extended  that  it  became  necessary,  as  the  business 
grew,  to  form  other  companies  as  adjuncts  to  their  business.  This 
necessity  also  led  to  the  formation  of  Barber  Steamship  Lines,  Inc., 
which  company  took  over  the  handling  of  the  entire  steamship  end 
of  the  business,  Barber  &  Co.,  Inc.,  continuing  as  the  parent  and 
holding  company  of  all  of  the  other  companies. 

The  family  of  Barber  corporations,  as  it  now  stands,  is  a  very 
formidable  and  comprehensive  one,  the  corporations  being  enumer- 
ated, with  their  special  objectives,  as  follows: 

Barber  &  Co.,  Inc.,  the  parent  company,  having  supervision  over 
all  of  the  others. 

Barber  Steamship  Lines,  Inc.,  handling  the  general  steamship 

business   and   representing  many   well   established   lines   of   overseas 

transportation. 

1  —199  — 


-& 

K* 

V7 

«- 

^ 

V7 

n, 

/-\ 

w 

VV 

& 

1  W 

VV 

Barber  Sailing  Ship  Lines,  Inc.,  handling  the  sailing  ship  busi- 
ness of  the  Barber  enterprise. 

Macona  Steamship  Corporation,  steamship  owners. 

New  York  &  Oriental  Steamship  Co.,  Inc.,  steamship  owners. 

La  Plata  Steamship  Co.,  Inc.,  steamship  owners. 

Atlantic  Piers  Co.,  Inc.,  handling  the  terminals,  and  also  the 
receiving  and  delivery  of  cargo. 

Atlantic  Towing  Co.,  Inc.,  handling  the  shifting  of  barges. 

Pier  Machine  Works,  Inc.,  handling  the  repairs  of  steamers. 

Atlantic  Stevedoring  Co.,  Inc.,  handling  the  loading  and  dis- 
charging activities  of  the  Barber  lines. 

Virginia  Coaling  Corporation,  which  attends  to  the  supplying  of 
bunkers. 

Through  these  various  corporations  the  activities  of  Barber 
&  Co.,  Inc.,  constitute  a  very  large  and  most  efficiently  self-con- 
tained organization,  covering  all  of  the  various  departments  and 
port  activities  connected  with  overseas  transportation  by  steam  and 
sail. 


&?LEXS£<NDE<R  &  BALDWIN,  Ltd. 

ALEXANDER  &  BALDWIN,  LTD.,  was  incorporated  on 
June  30th,  1900,  under  the  laws  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands, 
as  sugar  factors  and  commission  merchants.  The  main 
office  is  in  Honolulu,  and  branches  are  maintained  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, Seattle,  Kobe,  Yokohama,  and  New  York.  The  present 
officers  are : 

W.  M.  Alexander,  President  and  Director ;  H.  A.  Baldwin,  Vice- 
President  and  Director;  J.  Waterhouse,  Vice-President  and  Director; 
W.  O.  Smith,  Vice-President  and  Director;  John  Guild,  Secretary 
and  Director;  C.  R.  Hemenway,  Treasurer  and  Director;  F.  F. 
Baldwin,  Director;  A.  L.  Castle,  Director;  J.  R.  Gait,  Director; 
D.   B.   Murdoch,  Auditor. 

W.  M.  Alexander,  San  Francisco ;  John  Waterhouse,  Hono- 
lulu ;  E.  R.  Adams,  Seattle ;  J.  D.  Oakley,  Japan  Offices ;  C.  A. 
Dann,  New  York. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  organization  is  $7,500,000.00,  com- 
prised of  75,000  shares  with  a  par  value  of  $100. 


VV 

200  — 


A/~£W  YORK  HARBORS  LARGEST 
SHIP(BUILcDlKLg  YARD 

OCCUPYING  170  acres,  with  a  water  frontage  of  2,400  feet 
on  the  Hackensack  River,  the  Federal  Shipbuilding  Company 
is  the  largest  shipbuilding  yard  in  this  vicinity.  The  exten- 
sive facilities  of  the  plant  with  its  eight  launching  ways,  perma- 
nent shops  of  steel  and  concrete  construction,  floating  drydock 
and  very  modern  equipment,  offer  unusual  advantages  for  the  con- 
struction and  the  repair  of  all  types  of  merchant  vessels. 

The  plant,  which  is  a  subsidiary  of  the  United  States  Steel  Cor- 
poration, was  commenced  in  August,  1917.  The  first  vessel  was 
launched  in  June,  1918,  and  delivered  in  October,  1918.  Since  be- 
ginning of  operations  and  up  to  December  31,  1921,  fifty  vessels 
of  five  different  types  have  been  built,  consisting  of  thirty  single 
screw  cargo  vessels  of  about  9,600  tons  deadweight  capacity  deliv- 
ered to  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation,  thirteen  single  screw 
cargo  ships  of  two  different  types  around  9,600  tons  deadweight  de- 
livered to  the  Isthmian  Steamship  Company,  five  twin  screw  tankers 
of  15,100  tons  deadweight  delivered  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
of  New  Jersey,  and  two  smaller  vessels  for  other  companies,  as  well 
as  several  more  barges  and  car  floats.  The  normal  capacity  of  the 
yard  is  about  24  vessels  constructed  per  year,  with  a  working  force 
of  some  6,000  employes. 

The  general  plan  of  the  yard  shows  the  completeness  of  its  shop 
buildings,  storage  and  transportation.  There  are  seventeen  locomo- 
tive cranes,  four  locomotives  and  seventy  railroad  cars  to  assist  the 
handling  of  materials  needed  for  the  various  manufacturing  shops. 

At  the  shipways,  material  is  handled  by  portable  tower  cranes 
operated  by  electricity  on  40-foot  gauge  tracks  between  the  ways. 
The  length  of  travel  in  each  case  is  about  450  feet.  There  is  one 
tower  crane  between  each  pair  of  ways.  Each  of  the  portable  towers 
carries  two  booms ;  all  of  the  derrick  booms  have  a  capacity  of  15 
tons  at  a  maximum  reach  of  65  feet.  The  lower  ends  of  the  der- 
ricks are  65  feet  above  the  rails  and  the  towers  are  built  with  open 
frame  work,  giving  a  clear  height  of  20  feet  under  the  towers,  so 
that  freight  cars  and  locomotive  cranes  can  pass  down  the  ways 
underneath  the  towers.  Tavo  standard  gauge  railroad  tracks  extend 
down  the  length  of  the  ways  between  the  tower  rails,  so  that  material 
can  be  brought  on  cars  to  the  exact  location  on  the  ways  where  it  is 
to  be  erected.  Space  is  also  available  between  the  ways  for  the  tem- 
porary storing  of  a  limited  amount  of  fabricated  material.  The 
portable  tower  shipway  cranes  were  designed  and  built  by  the  Fed- 
eral Shipbuilding  Company  in  conjunction  with  the  American  Bridge 
Company. 

—  201  — 


VJ 

fl% 

VJ 

^%% 

,r\ 

a 

VJ 

W 

VJ 

At  the  head  of  the  shipways  and  about  275  feet  distant  from 
them  is  the  main  plate  shop,  800  feet  long  by  175  feet  wide,  which 
extends  parallel  with  the  waterfront.  The  wide  space  between  the 
plate  shop  and  shipways  is  used  for  the  assembling  of  such  parts  of 
the  vessels  as  bulkheads,  transoms,  deckhouses,  tanks,  skylights,  etc. 
Ground  assembly  is  further  facilitated  by  an  overhead  crane  runway 
with  a  span  of  71  feet  3V2  inches,  carrying  three  electric  traveling 
cranes,  one  of  35  tons  capacity  and  the  other  two  of  20  tons  capa- 
city each,  immediately  outside  of  the  plate  shop.  Over  the  plate  yard, 
immediately  behind  the  plate  shop,  are  two  crane  runways,  on  each 
of  which  are  installed  two  overhead  electric  traveling  cranes  of  10 
tons  capacity  each  and  two  of  5  tons  capacity  each. 

The  plate  shop  itself  is  divided  into  three  bays  extending  the  full 
length  of  the  building,  each  of  which  is  served  by  three  10-ton  over- 
head traveling  cranes.  The  plate  and  angle  furnaces  are  at  the  north 
end  of  the  shop,  and  in  an  extension  of  120  feet  long  at  this  end 
of  the  building  is  the  angle-smith  shop.  The  plate  shop  is  thor- 
oughly equipped  with  the  latest  types  of  fabricating  machinery. 
Material  at  the  punches  is  handled  on  Lyscholm  punch  tables,  and 
all  of  the  larger  machines  are  equipped  with  individual  electric  or 
chain  hoists  operated  on  jib  cranes.  The  arrangement  of  the  ma- 
chinery in  the  plate  shop  is  such  that  the  material  passes  in  pro- 
gressive steps  from  the  plate  yard  in  the  rear  of  the  shop  to  the 
assembly  yard  on  the  way  side.  Over  the  plate  shop  at  the  south- 
ern end  are  the  joiner  and  carpenter  shops,  while  at  the  northern 
end  is  the  mold  loft. 

Down  the  river,  immediately  below  the  shipways,  is  a  wet  basin 
used  as  a  fitting-out  berth,  which  has  a  capacity  for  fitting  out  eight 
vessels  at  one  time.  Near  the  fitting-out  berth  are  a  paint  shop, 
ship  riggers'  shop,  pipe  shop  and  storehouses.  A  space  at  the  end 
of  the  wet  basin  is  reserved  for  the  storage  of  pipe  and  fittings. 
Material  is  handled  at  the  fitting-out  berth  by  locomotive  cranes, 
and  for  heavy  weights  such  as  boilers  and  engines  a  stationary  three- 
leg  jib  crane  of  100  tons  capacity  has  been  erected.  This  crane  was 
designed  and  built  by  the  Federal  Shipbuilding  Company  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  American  Bridge  Company. 

Located  at  the  wet  basin  is  a  floating  drydoek  constructed  with 
wooden  pontoons  and  continuous  steel  wing  walls.  This  dock  will 
handle  vessels  up  to  500  feet  in  length  and  is  controlled  electrically 
from  an  operating  house  at  the  head  of  the  wet  basin.  The  pon- 
toons were  built  and  launched  from  yard's  ways,  while  the  steel  wing 
walls  were  fabricated  in  the  shops  and  the  complete  dock  was  erected 
by  the  Company's  forces  during  the  early  part  of  1921. 

—  202  — 


T7 


f# 


In  addition  to  the  plate  shop,  the  yard  is  equipped  with  a  ma- 
chine shop,  forge  shop,  boiler  shop,  foundry  and  carpenter  shop. 
Each  department  is  housed  in  a  separate  building,  and  all  of  the 
buildings  are  of  steel,  glass  and  tile  construction. 

Power  is  furnished  from  the  Public  Service  station  in  the  form 
of  electricity  at  13,000  volts,  which  is  stepped  down  to  2,200  volts 
for  operating  the  air  compressors,  400  volts  alternating  current 
and  250  volts  direct  for  general  machine  use,  and  110  volts  single 
phase  for  lighting  purposes.  In  the  power  house  are  five  air  com- 
pressors supplying  a  total  of  22,000  cubic  feet  of  free  air  per 
minute.  Two  of  the  compressors  are  Ingersoll-Rand  machines,  one 
with  a  capacity  of  5,400  cubic  feet  and  the  other  of  2,700  cubic  feet 
of  free  air  per  minute.  The  other  three  compressors  are  of  the 
Laidlaw-Dunn-Gordon  cross  compound  type,  each  with  a  capacity 
of  about  4,400  cubic  feet  of  free  air  per  minute.  In  the  power  house 
there  is  also  a  hydraulic  plant  with  a  capacity  of  450  gallons  per 
minute  at  1,500  pounds  per  square  inch  pressure,  consisting  of  three 
Dean  hydraulic  pumps  and  two  accumulators  supplied  by  the  Cam- 
den Iron  Works. 

The  machine  shop  is  500  feet  long  and  123  feet  8V2  inches  wide, 
with  two  side  balconies  each  about  30  feet  wide.  In  the  central  bay 
are  two  50-ton  Cleveland  overhead  electric  traveling  cranes,  each  of 
which  has  a  10-ton  auxiliary  hoist.  The  heavy  planers  and  boring 
machines  for  machining  stern  frames,  propellers  and  shafting  are 
in  the  center  bay,  while  the  lathes  and  lighter  machinery  are  in 
the  north  and  south  bays.  The  manufacture  of  propelling  machin- 
ery such  as  turbines,  reciprocating  engines,  condensers,  etc.,  is  well 
established. 

A  special  feature  of  this  yard  is  the  splendidly  equipped  shop 
for  building  Scotch  boilers.  The  shop  itself  is  500  feet  long  and 
161  feet  6  inches  wide,  to  which  an  extension  85  feet  long  has  been 
added.  The  shop  has  a  capacity  for  turning  out  annually  175 
Hiree-furnace,  single-end  Scotch  boilers  each  15  feet  6  inches  diame- 
ter by  11  feet  long  with  a  heating  surface  of  from  3,500  to  3,600 
square  feet. 

The  shop  is  divided  into  three  bays.  The  center  bay  is  served  by 
three  overhead  electric  traveling  cranes  of  50  tons  capacity  each  : 
the  eastern  end  of  the  bay  is  utilized  as  an  erecting  floor,  and  the 
western  end  for  the  bending,  drilling  and  riveting  of  the  heavy  shell 
plates.  The  equipment  here  includes  a  set  of  Southwark  vertical 
bending  rolls;  one  200-ton  bull  riveter;  one  150-ton  bull  riveter;  two 
75-ton  bull  riveters  and  two  90-ton  portable  riveters;  one  three-head 
Bethlehem  shell  drill,  and  one  three  head  shell  drill  built  at  the  yard. 


—  204 


w 

L 
VJ 

1 

w 

u 

\  / 

\  1 

\J 

"6* 

w 

r\ 

-w- 

^=^.  -/A.  .^. 

T7[\tt7 

• 
/ 

In  the  south  bay  arc  the  machines  for  punching,  shearing,  planing 
and  drilling  the  plates.  The  equipment  includes  sixteen  radial  drills, 
several  long-arm  radial  drilling  and  countersinking  machines,  three 
plate  planers,  bending  rolls,  etc.  Jib  cranes  with  chain  hoists  arc 
provided  for  handling  material  at  the  larger  machines,  and  this  bay 
is  also  equipped  with  two  20-ton  overhead  electric  traveling  cranes 
with  5-ton  auxiliary  hoists.  At  the  west  end  of  the  bay  are  the 
furnaces  and  bending  slabs  and  sectional  flanging  machines.  The 
northern  bay,  served  by  two  overhead  traveling  cranes,  is  used  prin- 
cipally for  the  lighter  sheet  metal  work,  such  as  casings,  uptakes, 
tanks,  etc. 

The  forge  shop  is  300  feet  long  by  151  feet  wide.  Part  of  this 
building  is  used  as  a  drop  forge  shop,  and  is  equipped  with  six  Erie 
steam  hammers  ranging  from  400  pounds  to  2,000  pounds,  two  Ajax 
riveting  machines  and  a  die  sinking  department.  The  rest  of  the 
building  is  taken  up  with  solid  smith  work,  for  which  six  Erie  single- 
frame  steam  hammers,  ranging  from  800  to  1,500  pounds,  are  pro- 
vided. There  is  also  a  United  Engineering  350-ton  hydraulic  press. 
The  center  bay  of  this  shop  is  served  by  a  15-ton  overhead  electric 
traveling  crane  supplied  by  the  Erie  Steel  Construction  Company. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  is  a  foundry  300  feet  long  by 
103  feet  wide  equipped  with  two  iron  cupolas,  each  with  a  capacity 
of  12  tons.  The  foundry  is  also  provided  with  equipment  for  fur- 
nishing brass  castings  up  to  one  ton.  The  center  bay  of  the  foun- 
dry is  equipped  with  two  20-ton  Milwaukee  overhead  traveling 
cranes. 

The  main  offices  of  the  company  are  located  in  a  two-story  gen- 
eral office  building  420  feet  long  by  55  feet  wide,  near  the  main  en- 
trance. The  administration  offices  are  on  the  first  floor  of  the  build- 
ing and  the  engineering  department  on  the  second  floor.  At  the 
main  entrance  are  the  time  clocks  and  employment  offices,  and 
nearby  is  a  well  equipped  emergency  hospital. 


\7 


W\ 


—  205 


THE  VULCAN  IRON  WORKS 

THE  VULCAN  IRON  WORKS,  INC.,  was  established  in  1848. 
In  1915  they  acquired  the  property  of  Alex.  Miller  &  Bro.  In 
1919  they  purchased  the  plant  of  Theo.  Smith  and  Sons  Com- 
pany and  in  1920  they  acquired  the  properties  of  the  Burt  and 
Mitchell  Dry  Dock  Company,  Brown  Dry  Dock  Company  and 
Grymes  Engineering  Company. 

The  work  consists  of  general  repairs  to  steel  and  iron  vessels, 
the  building  of  boilers,  engines  (reciprocating  and  turbine),  general 
machine  and  blacksmith  work  and  the  manufacture  of  buckets  and 
other  dredging  machinery. 

In  1902  they  built  the  pilot  boat  "New  Jersey"  for  the  New  Jer- 
sey State  Commission.  Later  the  following  fire  boats  were  con- 
structed for  New  York  City — "Thomas  Willett,"  "James  Duane," 
"Cornelius  Lawrence,"  "New  Yorker"  and  the  Western  Union  Cable 
steamer  "Robert  Cleary." 

In  1920  they  installed  the  first  entire  electric  propelling  equip- 
ment in  the  steamer  "Eclipse"  for  the  United  States  Shipping  Board, 
and  also  the  propelling  equipment  with  Diesel  engines  in  a  number 
of  merchant  steamers. 

They  have  a  complete  floating  repair  and  electric  welding  plant 
— equipped  with  air  compressors,  steam-driven  electric  generators 
and  a  complete  machine  shop. 

In  addition  to  the  modern  machine,  boiler,  blacksmith  and  wood- 
working shops,  they  operate  five  dry  docks. 

The  plant  is  located  at  the  mouth  of  Morris  Canal  Basin 
at  Jersey  City  opposite  the  Battery,  New  York  City. 

The  officers  of  the  Company  are  A.  J.  Grymes,  president ;  L.  S. 
Parker,  vice-president,  and  G.  F.  Fischer,  secretary. 

P.  KLEPPE  &  CO.,  Inc. 

THE  firm  of  P.  Kleppe  &  Co.,  Inc.,  was  incorporated  in  New 
York  in  1917  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  a  general  ship- 
ping and  ship  brokerage  business.  In  1919  this  Company 
formed  The  North  &  South  Line,  Inc.,  and  operated  a  regular 
freight  service  from  New  York  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Santos  and  Buenos 
Aires.  The  name  of  this  service  was  later  changed  to  Kleppe  Lines 
under  which  designation  it  now  maintains  monthly  sailings  from 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  to  South  America.  A  ship  brokerage 
department  is  also  maintained  as  part  of  the  organization  and  con- 
siderable business  is  done  with  its  connections  in  the  United  King- 
dom and  Scandinavia.  The  officers  of  P.  Kleppe  &  Co.,  Inc.,  are: 
President,  K.  A.  Kleppe;  vice-president,  Sigurd  Kleppe;  secretary, 
F.  Riker  Clark ;  treasurer,  G.  Grundesen. 

—  206  — 


"PAN  AMERICAN  "PETROLEUM 
AND  TRANSPORT  COMPANY 
MEXICAN  PETROLEUM  CO.,  Ltd., 

of   jDe/aware 

MEXICAN  PETROLEUM 
CORPORATION 

THE  recognition  of  the  supreme  importance  of  fuel-oil  for 
shipping,  and  the  conversion  of  ships  from  coal  to  oil  burners, 
amongst  which  are  some  of  the  largest  vessels  afloat,  is  the 
most  striking  development  in  the  shipping  world  during  the  post- 
war period.  There  are  today  2,536  vessels  fitted  for  burning  oil,  or 
20%  of  the  world  total,  which  is  more  than  nine  times  larger  than 
the  number  of  oil-burning  ships  in  1914.  There  is  nothing  at  the 
moment  of  greater  significance  for  the  efficiency  of  shipping  than 
an  assured  supply  of  fuel-oil. 

The  Mexican  Petroleum  Company,  Limited,  of  Delaware,  through 
a  subsidiary  (the  Huasteca  Petroleum  Company)  is  the  largest 
exporter  of  fuel-oil  from  Mexico.  During  the  year  1920  the  ship- 
ments amounted  to  over  25,000,000  barrels.  The  Company's  prop- 
erties in  Mexico  cover  vast  tracts  of  proven  land,  with  incalculably 
rich  deposits  of  petroleum.  The  Company  has  more  than  400 
miles  of  pipe  line,  and  the  Topping  Plant  at  Tampico  can  handle 
120,000  barrels  daily.  The  oil  storage  station  near  the  wharf, 
the  Topping  Plant,  work  shops,  offices,  etc.,  cover  an  area  of  652 
acres,  and  the  wharf  has  adequate  accommodation  for  the  loading 
simultaneously  of  three  large  tankers. 

For  the  effective  and  economic  handling  of  the  oil  a  large 
fleet  of  tankers  has  been  built;  these  tankers  are  owned  by  the 
Pan  American  Petroleum  &  Transport  Company,  which  controls  the 
Mexican  Petroleum  Company,  Limited,  of  Delaware.  These  ships 
are  engaged  in  shipping  oil  between  Tampico  and  ports  in  North 
and  South  America  and  Great  Britain.  The  fleet  of  tankers  con- 
sists of  31  ships  which  average  about  9,000  tons  each.  The  rapid 
growth  of  the  Company  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  eight  years 
ago  the  total  tonnage  of  ships  owned  was  38,425 ;  today  the 
total  dead-weight   tonnage   of  the   Company's   tankers    is    272,493. 

The  Mexican  Petroleum  Corporation  and  other  subsidiary  com- 
panies of  the  Mexican  Petroleum  Company,  Limited,  of  Dela- 
are,  own  distributing  stations  in  North  and  South  America  and 
Great  Britain  and  a  refinery  at  Destrehan,  La.,  which  can  treat 
30,000  barrels  of  oil  daily.  The  distributing  stations  are  well- 
equipped   with   piers,    storage    tanks,   loading    racks,    tugs,    barges, 

—  207  — 


W 

"6- 

-6- 

\J 

r\ 

~ 

r\ 

VJ 

W 

vv 

^^ 

U 

W 

W 

\J 

\J 

\J 

motor  trucks,  etc.  The  storage  tanks  at  the  stations  and  refinery 
have  a  total  capacity  of  5,118,745  barrels.  Each  station  is  pro- 
vided with  the  most  modern  appliances  for  handling  oil  expeditiously. 
Where  it  is  necessary  to  deliver  oil  from  barges,  rather  than  direct 
from  the  tanks,  every  efficient  facility  is  utilized  so  that  the  largest 
passenger  steamers  are  bunkered  in  the  minimum  of  time. 

Stations  are  erected,  or  being  erected,  at  all  important  ports 
from  Portland,  Maine,  to  Buenos  Aires,  in  Argentina,  and  in  Great 
Britain.     The  stations  already  completed  are: 

Portland,  Me. ;  Chelsea,  Mass. ;  Fall  River,  Mass. ;  Providence, 
R.  I. ;  Carteret,  N.  J. ;  Passaic,  N.  J. ;  Norfolk,  Va. ;  Jacksonville, 
Fla. ;  Tampa,  Fla. ;  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Destrehan,  La. ;  Galveston, 
Texas;  Cristobal,  C.  Z. ;  Para,  Brazil;  Pernambuco,  Brazil;  Bahia, 
Brazil;  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil;  Santos,  Brazil;  Montevideo,  Uru- 
guay; Buenos  Aires,  Argentina,  and  in  Great  Britain  at  Avonmouth, 
Glasgow,  Liverpool,  Southampton,  South  Shields  and  Thames  Haven. 

The  main  offices  of  these  companies  are:  120  Broadway,  New 
York  City   and  Los   Angeles,   Cal. 

NEW  YORK  AND   CUBA    MAIL 
S.  S.  CO.   'THE  WA<R<D  LINE" 

THE  NEW  YORK  &  CUBA  MAIL  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY, 
operating  the  "Ward  Line"  of  passenger  and  freight  steamers, 
has  its  general  offices  at  the  foot  of  Wall  Street,  East  River. 
Its  numerous  and  well-equipped  fleet  covers  the  principal  ports  of 
Europe  as  well  as  the  Bahamas,  Cuba,  and  the  Mexican  Gulf  Ports, 
and  it  maintains  agencies  in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United 
States,  Europe,   Mexico   and   Cuba. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are  as  follows :  Alfred  Gilbert 
Smith,  President ;  William  D.  Macy,  Vice-President ;  Joseph  Hodg- 
son, Vice-President ;  H.  E.  Cabaud,  Vice-President  and  Secretary ; 
Wm.  Harry  Smith,  Vice-President,  Havana;  R.  C.  MaeBain, 
Treasurer;  M.  O.  Fano,  Assistant  Treasurer;  H.  E.  De  Bedts, 
Assistant  Treasurer;  W.  F.  Paton,  Assistant  General  Traffic  Man- 
ager and  General  Passenger  Agent;  W.  S.  Hulick,  Assistant  Gen- 
eral Passenger  Agent;  Theodore  Bowker,  General  Freight  Agent; 
H.  R.  Warner,  Assistant  General  Freight  Agent;  W.  D.  Carter, 
Auditor;  Wm.  Inilay,  General  Claim  Agent;  Frank  E.  Pearce, 
Freight  Forwarding  Agent;  C.  C.  Oakes,  Marine  Superintendent; 
James  Cotter,  Port  Steward  and  Purchasing  Agent ;  R.  J.  Grif- 
fith, Terminal  Superintendent. 

—  208  — 


(ROBERT  K  LAVERIE 

ROBERT  II.  LAVERIE,  who  is  one  of  the  besl  known  experts 
on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic  in  ship  construction,  superin- 
tended the  production  of  more  than  100  ships  for  the  French 
government  in  its  efforts  to  replace  the  tonnage  lost  in  the  great  war. 
In  connection  with  this  work  and  the  building  of  other  vessels  already 
delivered,  Mr.  Laverie  superintended  the  construction  of  yards  in 
Portland,  Ore.,  and  Taconia,  Wash.,  and  probably  has  handled  as 
large  a  volume  of  administrative  problems  as  any  man  identified  with 
world  reconstruction  problems. 

Mr.  Laverie  has  been  identified  with  ships  and  ship  construction 
throughout  an  active  life.  He  is  a  native  of  Glasgow,  was  educated 
there,  and  later  entered  the  shipyards  of  D.  &  W.  Henderson,  on  the 
Clyde.  There  he  received  the  groundwork  of  training  for  a  career 
which  was  to  prove  one  of  exceptional  interest.  In  the  course  of  time 
Mr.  Laverie  went  to  the  shipbuilding  plant  of  G.  T.  Davie  &  Sons, 
Quebec,  where  he  remained  five  years.  Then,  progressing  steadily  in 
the  scale  of  responsibility,  he  worked  for  a  half  dozen  of  the  princi- 
pal organizations  engaged  in  ship  construction.  These  included  the 
American  Steel  Barge  Company,  West  Superior,  Wis. ;  the  Cramps' 
Yard,  Philadelphia ;  Newport  News  Shipbuilding  Company ;  Herre- 
shoff  Company,  Bristol,  R.  I. ;  Fore  River  Shipbuilding  Company, 
Quincy,  Mass. ;  Crescent  Shipyard  Company,  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  Town- 
send  &  Downey  Company,  Mariner  Harbor,  N.  Y.,  etc. 

In  1910  Mr.  Laverie  was  made  chief  surveyor  in  America  of  the 
Bureau  Veritas  International  Register  of  Shipping,  one  of  the  best 
known  institutions  in  the  shipping  trade  of  the  world.  Mr.  Laverie's 
unusual  experience  especially  fitted  him  for  this  post,  in  which  he  met 
with  success  of  the  first  order.  Then  the  coming  of  war  brought  a 
demand  for  shipping  brains  such  as  the  world  never  had  known.  It 
was  in  the  nature  of  things  that  a  man  such  as  Mr.  Laverie  should 
be  called  upon  to  take  an  important  part  in  maintaining  the  fleets  of 
the  Allies.  His  help  has  been  instrumental  in  the  creating  of  a  large 
new  tonnage  which  now  flies  the  French  flag.  Not  only  has  Mr. 
Laverie  directed  the  construction  of  new  ships  for  the  French,  but 
also  has  handled  the  repair  and  alteration  of  many  craft  acquired  in 
various  stages  of  usefulness.  And  his  work  has  not  been  wholly  for 
France  in  recent  years,  because  he  also  has  assisted  American  ship 
owners  with  their  problems.  Just  now  he  is  engaged  in  work  which 
will  occupy  his  attention  for  some  time  to  come. 

Mr.  Laverie  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Naval  Architects  and 
Marine  Engineers,  the  Maritime  Association  of  the  Port  of  New 
York,  Canadian  Society  of  New  York,  Arts  and  Science  and  White- 
hall Clubs.  He  is  President  of  the  firm  of  Robert  H.  Laverie,  Inc. ; 
also  President  of  the  Mariner  Harbor  Building  Loan  Association,  etc. 

—  209  — 


LAMPORT  &  HOLT,  Ltd. 

THE  name  of  Lamport  &  Holt  and  the  blue,  white  and  black 
funnel  of  their  steamers  are  familiar  on  all  trade  routes  lead- 
ing to  South  America. 

The  firm  was  established  in  1845  and  at  that  time  trade  was 
maintained  by  sailing  vessels.  Later  steamships  were  adopted  and 
today  the  fleet  is  a  modern  one  of  fifty  steamers,  including  several 
of  the  most  up-to-date  types. 

Services  are  maintained  between  New  York  and  Brazil  and  River 
Plate.  The  Lamport  &  Holt  Line  is  the  pioneer  passenger  carrying 
service  to  South  America  and  the  Company's  policy  of  progress  has 
resulted  in  the  building  of  a  fleet  of  palatial  passenger  liners,  the 
most  recent  addition  being  the  turbine  steamer  "Vandyck,"  which 
will  take  her  place  on  the  New  York  berth  early  in  1922. 

In  addition  to  the  New  York  South  America  services  the  Lam- 
port &  Holt  Line  maintains  freight  communications  between  Liver- 
pool, Glasgow,  London  and  Brazil  and  River  Plate  and  also  simi- 
lar services  from  Continental  ports. 

In  1911  Lamport  &  Holt  became  incorporated  as  a  limited  lia- 
bility Company  with  Sir  Owen  Philipps  as  Chairman  and  Lord 
Pirrie,  Mr.  Arthur  Cook  and  Mr.  George  H.  Melly  as  Directors. 
The  two  last  named  gentlemen  were  partners  in  the  original  firm  of 
Lamport  &  Holt.  In  February,  1920,  the  Marquess  of  Carisbrooke 
was  appointed  as  a  Director. 

During  the  war  the  vessels  of  the  Line  took  a  prominent  part  in 
the  conveyance  of  troops  and  war  material  to  the  Armies  in  France 
and  the  East. 


HENRY  W.  PEABODY  &  CO. 

THE  firm  of  Henry  W.  Peabody  and  Company  was  established 
January   1st,   1867.      The   founder  was   Henry  Wayland   Pea- 
body,  born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  a  descendant  of  Lieuten- 
ant Francis  Peabody,  who   settled  in  Salem  in   1635. 

The  New  York  office  is  at  17  State  Street,  with  branches  at 
San  Francisco,  Manila,  Melbourne,  Sydney,  London,  Capetown, 
Johannesburg  and  Buenos  Aires.  The  business  of  the  firm  is 
exportation  of  American  products  and  manufactures  and  impor- 
tation of  foreign  products  and  manufactures  for  the  United  States 
market.  With  the  development  of  international  trade  the  business 
of  the  firm  has  steadily  increased,  until  they  are  now  among  the 
largest  exporting  and  importing  houses   of  New  York. 

—  210  — 


to 
to 

< 

> 

O 
*< 
o 

o 

H 
H 

> 

o 

H 

pp 

E 
O 
f 


3 


HISTORY  OF  THE   'MORGAN    LINE" 

THE  original  line  of  steamers  commonly  known  as  the  "Morgan 
Line,"  was  inaugurated  by  Mr.  Charles  Morgan  sometime  in 
the  late  forties,  and  was  operated  in  the  early  fifties  between 
New  Orleans,  Texas  and  Mexican  Coast  points  with  a  few  small 
steamers,  the  names  of  which  are  not  now  available.  Sometime  (lur- 
ing 1858  or  1859,  Mr.  Morgan  purchased  from  Mr.  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt  and  added  to  the  fleet,  two  other  small  steamers  then  operated 
between  Brashear  (now  Morgan  City)   and  Texas  points. 

In  the  meantime  in  Louisiana,  public  spirited  men  had  also  con- 
ceived the  idea  and  the  ambition  to  open  up  the  undeveloped  section 
of  Southern  and  Western  Louisiana  and  bring  the  port  of  New 
Orleans,  then  an  important  city,  in  direct  connection  with  the  re- 
sources of  Texas  and  Louisiana,  it  being  their  ambition  to  make 
New  Orleans  the  great  export  port  for  the  whole  Southwestern 
country. 

The  New  Orleans,  Opelousas  &  Great  Western  Railroad  was 
organized  for  this  purpose,  and  the  far-flung  plans  of  the  promoters 
called  for  a  line  extending  through  Lafayette  and  Alexandria  and 
across  the  Sabine  River  at  a  point  near  Thompson's  Bluff,  west 
through  Texas  to  El  Paso,  thence  to  Mazatlan  in  Mexico  on  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

In  1857,  the  first  division  of  this  Railroad,  more  commonly 
known  as  the  "Opelousas  Railroad"  was  completed  and  operated  to 
Brashear  City,  a  distance  of  eighty  (80)  miles,  connection  being 
made  at  that  point  with  steamers  of  the  Morgan  Line  and  the  Van- 
derbilt  Line  for  Texas  and  Mexican  points. 

These  steamers  were  necessarily  of  a  very  light  draft,  as  the 
depth  of  water  in  what  was  then  known  as  "Ann  Channel,"  and  later 
on  as  the  "Morgan  Ditch,"  would  not  admit  vessels  drawing  more 
than  seven  and  one-half  feet.  However,  after  passing  though  this 
channel,  ten  miles  in  length,  and  entering  Berwick  Bay,  there  was 
sufficient  depth  to  permit  easy  docking  of  vessels  at  wharves  then 
located  at  what  is  now  Morgan  City,  and  connections  were  also 
made  at  this  port  with  steamboats  plying  along  the  inland  water- 
ways. 

At  this  time  (1857)  the  Opelousas  Railroad  had  erected  large 
cattle  pens  at  Morgan  City  to  take  care  of  large  shipments  of  cattle 
received  by  steamer  from  Texas  points  for  transportation  by  rail 
at  New  Orleans. 

What  is  now  the  Morgan's  Louisiana  &  Texas  Railroad  &  Steam- 
ship Company  was  taken  over  by  the  military  authorities  of  the 
LTnited  States  on  May  1,  1862,  and  was  operated  and  occupied  by 

—  212  — 


\7 


\  I 


M 


W 

\  / 


XT 


\  / 


ffi 


\  / 


/Ok 


^1 


ei 


M 


a-, 


t7 


/"., 


W 


T7 


them  until  February  1,  1866.  The  president  of  the  Morgan  Road 
during  this  difficult  time  was  A.  B.  Seger,  who  conducted  the  affairs 
of  the  company  with  great  devotion  to  the  interest  of  the  owners. 

When  taken  over  by  the  United  States  the  Opelousas  Railroad 
had  not  been  completed  beyond  Morgan  City,  but  was  cleared,  graded 
and  ready  for  ties  and  rail  for  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  beyond 
that  point,  when  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  caused  the  suspen- 
sion of  all  work. 

After  the  Opelousas  Railroad  regained  possession  of  its  prop- 
erties in  1866,  the  rail  and  steamship  lines  resumed  operations,  the 
steamship  lines  being  controlled  by  Mr.  Charles  Morgan,  traffic 
arrangements  with  the  railroad  providing  for  the  movement  of  freight 
to  and  from  Texas  and  Mexican  Coast  points  in  connection  with  the 
steamship  lines.  The  steamers  operated  in  this  trade  by  the  Morgan 
Line  were  the  "Matagorda,"  "Alabama,"  "I.  C.  Harris"  and  "Har- 
lan." In  addition,  the  Morgan  Line  owned  and  operated  the  follow- 
ing steamers  :-"Wm.  G.  Howe,"  "Clinton"  and  "St.  Mary,"  all  of 
about  one  thousand  (1,000)  gross  tons  each,  and  of  about  the  same 
design  with  fairly  good  passenger  accommodations. 

On  April  5,  1869,  Charles  Morgan  purchased  at  marshal's  sale 
the  New  Orleans,  Opelousas  &  Great  Western  Railroad,  extending 
at  that  time  to  Morgan  City.  Morgan  City  became  for  ten  years 
the  terminus  of  the  Morgan  road  and  from  its  Morgan's  steamships 
and  river  boats  supplied  Texas  and  Louisiana. 

In  1870,  the  Morgan  Line  added  to  the  fleet  the  steamship 
"Hutchinson,"  a  side-wheeler  of  fourteen  hundred  (1400)  tons  gross, 
and  afterwards  changed  to  a  propeller.  This  steamer  was  followed 
by  the  S.  S.  "Whitney,"  thirteen  hundred  (1300)  gross  tons,  the 
S.  S.  "Josephine,"  thirteen  hundred  (1300)  gross  tons,  the  S.  S. 
"Josephine,"  thirteen  hundred  (1300)  gross  tons  in  1871,  and  the 
S.  S.  "Gussie,"  one  thousand  (1000)  gross  tons  in  1872.  The  S.  S. 
"Whitney"  and  S.  S.  "Josephine"  were  later  placed  in  the  Cuban 
and  Mexican  trade. 

In  1876,  the  Morgan  Line  began  operating  the  New  York-New 
Orleans  Line  with  the  following  screw  steamers :  "Lone  Star," 
"Algiers,"  "Morgan  City"  and  "New  York,"  all  of  about  twenty- 
three  hundred  (2300)  gross  tons  each,  or  a  total  of  ninety-two 
hundred  (9200)  gross  tons,  steamers  being  used  for  freight  exclu- 
sively. 

The  Morgan  road,  which  had  been  projected  to  Lafayette,  but 
on  which  track  had  not  been  laid,  was  finally  pushed  through  in  1878 
and  the  Morgan's  Louisiana  &  Texas  Railroad  &  Steamship  Com- 


213  — 


r\. 

U 

^1 

"0" 

\j 

rw" 

"0" 

^ 

•e- 

& 

^ 

"w* 

VV 

./a.  x\.  j-\. 

pany  was  then  organized,  this  being  only  a  few  weeks  before  Mr. 
Morgan's  death. 

In  18T9,  the  S.  S.  "Chalmette"  of  thirty-two  hundred  (3200) 
gross  tons  was  built  and  placed  in  the  New  York-New  Orleans  trade. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  Morgan  Line  continued  to  operate 
steamers  between  Morgan  City  and  Texas  and  Mexican  Coast 
points,  the  former  being  known  as  the  Texas  Line,  and  the  latter 
as  the  Vera  Cruz  Line,  both  of  which  were  abandoned  in  later  years. 
About  this  time  the  Havana  Line  was  in  operation,  steamers  touch- 
ing on  their  way  south  at  Cedar  Keys  and  Key  West,  Florida,  and 
in  later  years  at  Port  Tampa,  Florida,  returning  northbound  via 
Key  West,  Florida. 

In  1882,  the  S.  S.  "Excelsior"  of  thirty-five  hundred  (3500) 
gross  tons  was  built  and  placed  in  the  New  York-New  Orleans 
trade.  The  business  had  so  increased  that  vessels  had  to  be  chartered 
while  larger  and  faster  ones  were  building. 

In  1880  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  reached  El  Paso  from  the 
Pacific  Coast  and  in  1883  the  gap  was  closed  at  Devil's  River  in 
Texas  between  construction  working  from  the  west  and  that  from 
the  east  which  completed  the  Southern  Pacific's  southern  trans-con- 
tinental line.  The  first  train  from  New  Orleans  reached  San  An- 
tonio on  February  6,  1883,  and  the  first  train  from  San  Francisco 
reached  San  Antonio  on  February  7,  1883.  Operation  of  through 
train  service  from  New  Orleans  to  San  Francisco  then  began  and 
continuous  service  was  established  from  that  date. 

In  1884,  the  "Eureka,"  "El  Dorado,"  and  "El  Paso"  were  built; 
in  1886,  the  "El  Monte,"  and  in  1889,  the  "El  Mar."  These  were 
14  knot  ships  of  thirty-five  hundred  (3500)  tons.  They  were  fol- 
lowed in  1890  by  the  "El  Sol,"  of  forty-five  hundred  (4500)  tons, 
with  speed  of  15  knots.  At  this  time  contracts  for  three  more  ships 
of  the  "El  Sol"  class  were  let,  the  "El  Norte,"  "El  Sud,"  and  "El 
Rio."  These  ships  were  built  and  placed  in  commission  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  The  last  four  ships  were  taken  by  the  Government  dur- 
ing the  Spanish-American  War  and  converted  into  cruisers.  They 
proved  so  adaptable  for  the  service  that  when  the  war  was  over  the 
Government  would  not  release  them.  This,  of  course,  crippled  the 
Line  and  more  vessels  had  to  be  built  to  replace  them.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  steamships  "New  Orleans,"  "Knickerbocker,"  and  "Hud- 
son" were  operated  under  charter.  In  1899  and  1901,  contracts 
were  let  and  the  "El  Norte,"  "El  Sud,"  "El  Sid"  and  "El  Rio," 
were  built  as  rapidly  as  possible,  followed  right  along  by  the  "El 
Valle,"  "El  Dia,"  "El  Siglo"  and  "El  Alba,"  all  of  the  same  design. 


—  211 


T7 


.XX 

T7 


<^>^> 


\/ 


U 


XX 


T7 


RS 


XX 

T7 


XX 


XX 
T7 


T7 


XX 

T7 


e- 


-6- 


6i 


T7 


«XX 
T7 


-6- 


The  organizing  effect  of  the  Southern  Pacific  began  to  be  felt 
in  1874,  when  C.  P.  Huntington  and  T.  W.  Pierce  acquired  an  in- 
terest in  the  Galveston,  Harrisburg  &  San  Antonio  Railroad.  From 
that  time  until  1885,  when  the  Morgan  road  and  the  other  Louisi- 
anna  lines  were  acquired  and  when  the  famous  Sunset  Route  was 
firmly  established,  and  until  1888  when  the  Houston  &  Texas  Cen- 
tral was  acquired,  and  finally  in  1895  when  the  Houston  East  & 
West  Texas  became  part  of  the  system,  the  growth  of  the  present 
Southern  Pacific  System  was  gradual.  But  the  constructive  genius 
of  its  heads,  including  the  great  Harriman,  steadily  made  its  impres- 
sion in  the  continuously  increasing  effectiveness  of  the  system,  until 
at  the  present  time,  while  all  of  the  operating  companies  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Lines  are  separate  organizations,  they  are  in  prac- 
tical effect  one  system  and  as  such  were  and  are  the  greatest  in- 
dustrial factor  in  the  development  and  prosperity  of  the  common- 
wealths through  which  they  operate. 

In  1900,  the  Company  began  building  the  finest  piers  in  the 
country  at  Galveston,  the  far  West  and  Transcontinental  trade  hav- 
ing assumed  such  proportions  that  both  ports,  New  Orleans  and 
Galveston,  had  to  be  used,  and  in  August,  1902,  the  New  York 
and  Galveston  Line  was  placed  in  operation  with  three  steamers  per 
week,  in  order  to  take  care  of  trans-continental  trade. 

In  the  same  month  and  year  the  Company  took  over  the  Crom- 
well Steamship  Line,  which  added  to  the  fleet  the  S.  S.  "Comus" 
and  S.  S.  "Proteus,"  two  combination  freight  and  passenger  steam- 
ers, each  of  forty-eight  hundred  (4800)  gross  tons,  these  steamers 
being  operated  from  New  Orleans  proper  to  New  York. 

The  Company  also  acquired  at  this  time  from  the  Cromwell  Line 
the  S.  S.  "Louisiana,"  of  twenty-nine  hundred  (2900)  gross  tons. 
This  steamer  was  operated  from  February,  1903,  in  the  Havana 
Line,  until  she  sunk  at  New  Orleans  Docks,  April,  1905. 

The  Company  continued  to  operate  steamers  from  Algiers  to 
New  York,  and  also  to  Havana,  up  to  February,  1903,  when  all 
business  was  transferred  to  New  Orleans  side  of  the  river,  and  the 
docks  and  wharves  at  Algiers  abandoned. 

In  order  to  meet  the  increased  passenger  business,  three  combina- 
tion freight  and  passenger  steamers  were  built  in  1905  and  1906. 
They  were  the  "Momus"  and  "Antilles,"  of  6,878  gross  tons  each, 
and  the  "Creole,"  of  6,754  gross  tons. 

The  "Momus"  was  placed  in  commission  in  December,  1906;  the 
"Antilles,"  in  May,  1907,  and  the  "Creole"  was  commissioned  in 
June,   1907. 


—  215  — 


VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

VJ 

Tf 

-6" 

VJ 

Y7 


T7 


^1 


TJ 


TJ 


1^ 


^7 


In  1909,  the  further  increase  in  freight  offerings  necessitated  an 
increase  in  the  deadweight  carrying  capacity  of  the  steamship  lines, 
and  to  meet  this  demand,  four  fast  freight  steamers  were  built  with 
a  deadweight  cargo  capacity  of  6,400  tons  each,  and  speed  of  15V2 
knots.  These  steamers  were  named  and  placed  in  service  in  the 
following  order. 

El  Sol August       27,  1910 

El  Mundo     October         1,1910 

El  Oriente    October       29,   1910 

El  Occidente    . December      7,   1910 

Subsequently,  in  order  to  reduce  the  cost  of  operations,  the 
following  ships  were  converted  into  oil  burners,  making  eight  oil- 
burning  ships  in  all,  viz. : 

"El  Sud,"  "El  Alba,"  "El  Mundo,"  "El  Oriente,"  "El  Valle," 
"El  Norte,"  "El  Sol,"  and  "El  Occidente." 

In  1912,  it  became  necessary  to  build  a  tank  steamer  in  order 
to  transport  oil  from  the  Mexican  fields  to  tanks  at  Galveston  and 
Algiers,  both  for  the  steamship  as  well  as  the  rail  lines,  and  the 
tank  ship  Topila,  with  a  capacity  of  50,000  barrels  of  crude  oil, 
was  placed  in  commission  in  June,  1913.  She  was  followed  in  1917 
by  another  tank  steamer,  the  "Torres,"  of  the  same  carrying  ca- 
pacity. 

In  1916,  before  the  U.  S.  Government  entered  into  the  World 
War,  it  was  found  necessary  to  further  increase  the  cargo  capacity 
of  the  fleet,  and  to  meet  these  requirements  the  steamships  "El  Al- 
mirante  and  "El  Capitan,"  were  constructed  with  a  cargo  capacity 
of  6,500  tons  each.  They  were  especially  designed  for  the  handling 
of  slow  moving  freight,  and  for  this  purpose  their  speed  was  lim- 
ited to   twelve  knots. 

Anticipating  the  retirement  of  the  steamships  "El  Paso,"  built 
in  1886,  the  "El  Monte,"  and  "El  Mar,"  built  in  1889,  because  of 
their  age,  small  carrying  capacity,  and  obsolete  type,  making  them 
expensive  to  operate,  contract  was  let  in  December,  1919,  for  the 
construction  of  three  freight  steamers  with  a  deadweight  capacity 
of  4,000  tons  each,  which  were  named  and  placed  in  commission  in 
the   following  order : 

El  Estero     November  24,   1920 

El  Isle    January      18,  1921 

El  Lago    March '         8,  1921 

The  use  of  fuel  oil  by  the  rail  and  steamship  lines,  which  will  be 
still  further  increased  by  the  contemplated  conversion  of  other  ships 
into  oil-burners,  made  it  necessary  to   provide  additional  facilities 

—  216  — 


^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^  ^[^  ^  tr  tj  ^  tt  [tr  tt  t7r\7l[T7l  T7 


for  the  transportation  of  oil  from  the  Mexican  fields,  and  to  meet 
this  demand,  contract  was  placed  in  March,  1920,  for  another  tank 
ship  with  a  deadweight  capacity  of  16, 340  tons,  capable  of  trans- 
porting 100,000  barrels  of  crude  oil.  This  vessel,  the  "Tamiahua," 
was  completed  and  placed  in  commission  September  29,  1921. 

QEO.  R.  ■BURROWS,  Inc. 

IT  IS  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  that  we  have  noted  the  rise 
to   prominence   enjoyed  by   the  firm   of   Geo.   R.   Burrows,   Inc. 

Although  only  a  young  firm  in  the  sail-making  business,  it  has 
been  built  up  by  men  who  were  born  and  raised  in  the  old  school. 
There  is  an  old  saying  that  all  things  worth  while  build  slowly,  and 
when  we  consider  new  ideas  applied  by  men  imbued  with  old  time 
principles,  there  is  assurance  of  success,  and  the  prestige  gained  is 
lasting. 

Time  was  when  the  jib-booms  of  the  famous  clipper  ships 
crossed  the  street  almost  to  the  windows  of  buildings  on  the  other 
side.  Time  was  when  there  were  more  than  two  suits  to  a  clipper 
ship  with  their  thirty-two  sails.  Time  was  when  machines  were  un- 
heard of  and  the  square  rigger  would  tug  and  pull  on  her  hawsers 
for  days  patiently  waiting  while  a  score  of  men  were  hurrying  to 
finish  the  new  suit,  that  the  ship  might  sail  to  the  shores  beyond. 

Reminiscence  has  its  place,  but  we  have  all  realized  at  one  time 
or  another,  the  value  of  experience,  and  when  today  a  problem  is 
approached,  that  priceless  experience,  gained  through  the  years, 
shows  us  how  the  new  ideas  are  based  on  fundamental  principles 
born  of  the  time  before  us. 

It  is  surprising,  when  we  consider  that  today  there  is  more 
canvas  on  a  battleship  than  on  the  old  square  rigger.  Over  one 
thousand  hammocks  must  be  supplied  the  men ;  the  decks  fore  and 
aft  must  be  covered  with  awnings ;  the  dynamos,  boats  and  guns 
must  be  covered  and  screened. 

What  the  future  brings,  none  can  tell ;  we  are  sincere  when  wTe 
wish  Geo.  R.  Burrows,  Inc.,  the  full  measure  of  prosperity  due  them, 
and  as*  time  rolls  on,  let  us  not  forget  that  old  saying  which  will 
always  ring  out  for  time  everlasting. 

"Where  there's  wind  and  wrater,  there'll  be  sail." 


T7 


—  217  — 


gENERAL  ELECTRIC  COMPANY'S 
ACTIVITIES  IN  THE  MARINE  FIELD 

THE  GENERAL  ELECTRIC  COMPANY  was  incorporated  in 
1892,  acquiring  at  its  formation  all  the  capital  stock  of  the 
Edison  General  Electric  Company,  of  the  Thomson-Huston 
Electric  Company,  and  of  the  Thomson-Houston  International  Elec- 
tric Company.  The  previous  twelve  years  in  the  history  of  electri- 
cal industries  was  an  era  of  invention  and  preparation ;  incandes- 
cent and  arc  lighting  and  electric  traction  were  growing  arts,  but 
were  so  clouded  and  delayed  up  to  1892  by  the  clash  of  divergent 
methods,  that  only  a  few  realized  their  vast  future  utility. 

The  General  Electric  Company  started  its  activities  in  the  ma- 
rine field  about  twenty-five  years  ago  with  the  manufacture  of 
Steam  Engine-Driven  Generating  Sets  which  were  used  for  lighting 
purposes.  These  sets  have  been  installed  in  the  ships  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  in  the  Russian,  Japanese,  Brazilian,  Cuban  and  other 
foreign  navies.  The  ships  built  for  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corpora- 
tion by  the  American  International  Shipbuilding  Corporation  at 
Hog  Island  are  fitted  exclusively  with  G-E  Steam  Engine-Driven 
Generating  Sets,  as  are  numerous  other  merchant  ships. 

In  the  last  few  years  rapid  strides  have  been  made  by  the  Com- 
pany in  the  development  of  main  propulsion  as  well  as  auxiliary 
apparatus  for  ships. 

A  large  number  of  G-E  Marine  Geared  Turbines  have  been  built 
for,  and  are  installed  in  various  types  of  vessels  of  the  U.  S.  Navy, 
such  as  scout  cruisers,  destroyers,  torpedo  boats,  etc. 

The  Company  was  the  first  in  the  world  to  build  electric  ship 
propulsion  machinery  for  a  naval  vessel  with  the  5,800  h.p.  set  in- 
stalled in  the  IT.  S.  Collier  "Jupiter,"  now  the  airplane  carrier 
"Langley." 

This  type  of  drive  was  then  adopted  by  the  Navy  for  all  the 
capital  ships  so  that  the  Company  has  now  installed  or  under  con- 
struction turbine-electric  propulsion  machinery  for  the  U.  S.  Navy 
aggregating  957,800  h.p. 

Following  the  example  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  the  Japanese  Navy  is 
installing  in  the  latest  U,000  ton  fuel  ship  G-E  8,000  h.p.  turbine- 
electro  propulsion  machinery. 

The  first  American  Marine  Geared  Turbine,  i.e.,  a  high-speed 
turbine  driving  the  propeller  through  a  double  reduction  gear  was 
manufactured  by  the  Company  and  installed  in  1915  in  the  S.  S. 
"Pacific."  Thirteen  additional  units  were  built  shortly  afterwards 
and  installed  in  merchant  ships. 

When  the  United  States  entered  the  Great  War,  it  was  recog- 
nized that  the  effectiveness  of  our  armies  would  depend  on  how  rap- 

—  218  — 


A   \ 


XJ 


/  \ 

\J 

y 


XJXI 

/  ,, 


\  I 


\  I 


x^^r<5Yd 


/     L 


\f 


iW\ 


u 

u 

Wi 


idly  merchant  ships  could  be  built  and  equipped.  At  this  time 
the  only  double  reduction  Marine  Geared  Turbines  in  actual  ser- 
vice were  the  fourteen  units  built  by  the  General  Electric  Company. 
An  order  for  a  large  number  of  Marine  Geared  propulsion  units  was 
placed  with  the  Company.  To  fulfill  the  requirements  for  early 
delivery,  the  General  Electric  Company's  facilities  for  manufactur- 
ing Marine  Geared  Turbines  were  increased,  and  special  tools  and 
equipment  was  procured.  Delivery  was  made  by  the  Company  at 
the  rate  of  one  complete  Marine  Geared  Turbine  unit  per  day.  Over 
three  hundred  units  were  thus  installed  in  merchant  ships.  The 
great  speed  at  which  these  units  were  manufactured  by  the  Com- 
pany and  the  actual  service  rendered  to  the  Government  during  the 
hostilities  is  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  G-E  equipped 
ships  rendered  more  than  four-fifths  of  the  total  service  given  by 
vessels  propelled  by  double  reduction  geared  turbines. 

When  the  demands  of  the  United  States  Shipping  Board  for 
additional  propulsion  machinery  became  more  insistent,  the  Com- 
pany, prompted  by  the  success  attending  turbine-electric  drive  on 
the  collier  "Jupiter"  and  the  Battleship  "New  Mexico,"  offered  to 
build  turbine-electric  propulsion  machinery  for  merchant  ships. 
Up  to  date  five  Shipping  Board  ships  have  thus  been  equipped: 

S.  S.  Eclipse,  S.  S.  Invincible,  S.  S.  Archer,  S.  S.  Independence, 
and  S.  S.  Victorious . 

Seven  more  equipments  are  practically  completed  and  will  be 
installed  in   similar  ships. 

Similar  equipments  have  been  installed  on  the  express  passenger 
and  freight  ships,  S.  S.  Cuba,  and  the  four  latest  U.  S.  Coast  Guard 
Cutters,  the  U.  S.  S.  Tampa,  Haida,  Mojave,  and  Modoc. 

An  equipment  of  this  kind  consists  of  a  high-speed  turbine 
direct-connected  to  an  alternating-current  generator  which  delivers 
current  to  an  alternating-current  propulsion  motor.  This  motor  is 
directly  coupled  to  the  propeller  shaft.  All  maneuvering  is  done 
from  one  central  station,  the  control  panel,  on  which  are  mounted 
all  instruments  and  maneuvering  levers. 

These  equipments  are  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be  installed  in 
American  merchant  ships. 

The  Company  was  the  first  to  successfully  apply  the  Diesel  en- 
gine-electric system  of  propulsion  to  merchant  ships.  In  February, 
1920,  the  500  ton  fishing  trawler  "Mariner"  of  Gloucester,  Mass., 
propelled  by  400  h.p.  Diesel  engine-electric  machinery,  went  into 
service.  The  reliability  and  efficiency  of  this  kind  of  drive  has 
proved  itself  and  will  be  further  demonstrated  by  the  world's  first 
Diesel    engine-electric    cargo    ship     the    2,000    M.     S.    Fordonian, 


219  — 


mm 


XJ 


xx 


XJ 


xx 


LU 


^ 


/  \ 

AA 

/\ 

V7 

vv 

VJ 

T7 


/3, 


T7 


m 


XJ 


/-■\ 


\7 


.ZIY 


XJ 


M&& 


T7 


^Q. 


rr 


^1 


equipped  with  850  h.p.  Diesel  engine-electric  propulsion  machinery. 
The  General  Electric  Company  furnished  the  electrical  equipment 
for  both  installations. 

The  efforts  of  the  Company  have  not  been  confined  to  the  devel- 
opment and  perfection  of  propulsion  machinery  only.  Realizing 
the  advantages  to  be  gained  from  electrification  of  the  ship's  auxil- 
aries,  a  complete  line  of  electric  appliances  have  been  built  especially 
for  merchant  marine  service.  This  comprises  generators  and  switch- 
boards for  auxiliary  power,  motors  and  control  for  deck  and  engine 
room  auxiliaries,  for  fans,  refrigerating  machines,  etc.,  are  welding 
sets,  air  compressors,  radio  apparatus,  searchlights,  lamps  and 
lighting  fixtures,  galley  appliances,  etc. ;  in  short,  every  auxiliary 
apparatus  found  on  board  ship. 

To  fulfill  the  demands  for  properly  trained  and  competent  engi- 
neers to  take  charge  of  the  ship's  machinery,  the  General  Electric 
Company  established  a  School  of  Marine  Engineering  at  Schenec- 
tady. Two  courses  were  conducted,  one  on  Marine  Geared  Tur- 
bines and  the  other  on  Electric  Propulsion  Machinery.  Up  to  date 
approximately  1,200  marine  engineers  have  been  trained,  comprising 
naval  officers,  port  engineers,  U.  S.  Shipping  Board  engineers,  engi- 
neers of  private  steamship  companies,  construction  foremen  from 
shipyards  and  repair  yards,  engineer  graduates  of  state  nautical 
school  ships,  etc. 


UNITED  STATES  LLOYDS,  Inc. 

THE  UNITED  STATES  "LLOYDS"  was  the  first  organization 
to  conduct,  in  the  United  States,  the  business  of  marine  in- 
surance on  the  plan  of  individual  underwriting  as  at  Lloyds, 
London. 

Organized  in  1872  with  a  list  of  one  hundred  subscribers  or  un- 
derwriters composed  of  many  of  the  foremost  bankers  and  merchants 
of  that  time  it  has  taken  a  prominent  position  in  the  insurance  world 
for  nearly  fifty  years  past,  and  included  in  its  managers  during 
that  period  are  the  names  of  James  F.  Cox,  A.  Foster  Higgins, 
John  D.  Barrett,  Herbert  Appleton  and  Douglas  F.  Cox. 

In  1918  the  organization  was  incorporated  as  a  stock  company 
to  do  marine  and  fire  insurance,  and  is  now  known  as  United  States 
Lloyds,  Inc.,  under  the  management  of  Appleton  &  Cox,  Inc. 

Always  enjoying  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  the  insuring 
public,  it  has  paid  losses  of  over  $30,000,000  to  its  policy  holders. 


220  — 


L  LO  YD  SA  BA  UDO  ■ 

SOCIETA  ANONIMA  'PER  AZWNI 

Fast    Italian   J\Lail  Line 

THE  LLOYD  SABAUDO  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY— whose 
Home  Offices  arc  in  Genoa — was  organized  in  Turin,  Italy,  on 
June  21,  1906,  with  a  fully  paid  up  capital  of  Lit.  15,000,000 
which  has  from  time  to  time  been  increased  to  Lit.  60,000,000. 

On  April  4,  1907,  the  newly  formed  Company  celebrated  the  in- 
auguration of  its  services  with  a  reception  on  board  the  S.  S.  "Re 
d'ltalia,"  at  which  there  were  present  government,  municipal  and 
maritime  authorities  and  church  dignitaries,  and  on  the  7th  of  the 
same  month  this  steamer  left  Genoa  on  its  maiden  trip  to  New  York. 

There  followed  other  steamers,  such  as  the  "Regina  d'ltalia," 
"Principe  di  Piemonte,"  "Principe  di  LTdine"  and  "Tommaso  di 
Savoia,"  the  latter  two  having  been  assigned  to  South  American 
trade. 

In  1914  the  Company  sold  the  "Principe  di  Piemonte"  and  pur- 
chased thirteen  freight  units,  which  performed  very  important  work 
during  the  World  Conflict,  in  connection  with  the  provisioning  for 
the  account  of  the  Italian  Government. 

In  the  performance  of  their  duty,  two  among  the  Company's  best 
steamers — the  "Valdieri"  and  the  "Capodimonte"  were  sunk,  but 
these  were  soon  replaced  by  two  others,  bearing  names  similar  to 
those  lost. 

Another  great  step  towards  the  complete  development  of  the 
Lloyd  Sabaudo's  program  is  represented  by  the  construction  of  the 
de  luxe  turbine  quadruple  screw  steamer  "Conte  Rosso,"  the  largest, 
fastest  and  most  beautiful  Italian  steamer  afloat.  This  steamer, 
which  will  make  its  maiden  trip  to  New  York  early  in  1922  has  a 
displacement  of  21.000  tons,  a  speed  of  20  knots  per  hour  and  will 
be  able  to  make  trips  between  Italian  ports  and  New  York  in  less 
than  nine  days,  thus  establishing  a  record  among  the  steamers  at 
present  plying  in  this  trade. 

Moreover,  the  Lloyd  Sabaudo  has  at  present  at  a  well  advanced 
stage  of  construction  a  sister  ship  of  the  "Conte  Rosso,"  the  "Conte 
Verde,"  which  possesses  the  same  characteristics,  that  will  make 
these  two  steamers  the  most  popular  in  the  Italian-North  American 
trade. 

Resides  the  above,  the  Lloyd  Sabaudo  participated  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Italian  "Cantieri  Navali  F.  Tosi"  in  whose  shipyards 
at  Taranto  the  freight  steamers  "Castelporziano"  and  "Valdieri" 
were  constructed,  and  wherein  two  other  freight  units  of  12,000 
tons  each  are  now  being;  built. 

—  221  — 


r\ 

AA 

r~\ 

AA 

/-\ 

x^'O'fil 

.r\. 

w 

\J 

\J 

V7 

\J 

w 

AA 

w 

u 

V7 

w 

\J 

"Q" 

^ 

The  Italian  freight  line  "La  Polare"  is  also  under  the  full  control 
of  this  Company  since  1918,  and  the  total  displacement  of  the  pas- 
senger and  freight  steamers  of  the  Lloyd  Sabaudo  now  reach  about 
200,000  tons. 

The  activities  of  the  Lloyd  Sabaudo,  however,  were  not  only 
confined  to  the  commercial  field,  for  in  the  occurrence  of  the  earth- 
quake at  Messina,  in  December,  1908,  its  steamers  were  sent  to  the 
stricken  zone  for  the  purpose  of  lending  any  aid  that  may  have  been 
required  of  them,  while  during  the  entire  period  of  the  Italian- 
Turkish  War  in  Tripoli,  both  the  S.  S.  "Re  d'ltalia"  and  "Regina 
d'ltalia"  were  assigned  to  hospital  duty,  which  they  performed  unin- 
terruptedly for  two  years. 

These  two  steamers  were  also  utilized  to  a  very  good  advantage 
during  the  World  War,  serving  in  multiple  purposes,  to  wit:  hos- 
pital ships ;  transporting  allied  troops  to  and  from  the  war  zone 
and  the  American  troops,  cattle,  provisions  and  ammunitions  from 
the  United  States  to  France  and  returning  of  the  American  troops ; 
the  Saloniki  campaign  and  many  other  valuable  services. 

As  new  steamers  were  added  to  those  owned  by  the  Lloyd  Sa- 
baudo, new  services  were  established  in  addition  to  the  original 
North  and  South  American  lines,  and  the  ships  of  the  Lloyd  Sabaudo 
now  touch  also  ports  on  the  Black  Sea,  North  Europe  and  Australia. 

A  note  worthy  of  interest  is  the  fact  that  the  president  of  the 
Lloyd  Sabaudo  is  one  of  the  greatest  scientists  of  all  times,  Gug- 
lielmo  Marconi. 

PEIRCE  "BROTHERS,  Inc. 


THE  PEIRCE  LINE  is  one  of  the  very  oldest  Italian  Steamship 
Companies  in  service  from  Mediterranean  to  U.  S.  Ports.     The 
"Sicula  Americana"  "Societa  di  Navigazione  ed  Imprese  Mari- 
time, with  head  office  in  Naples,  is  a  Steamship  Line  which  has  had 
a  regular  passenger  and  freight  service  between  Italy  and  the  United 
States  since  1907. 

Grande  Ufficiale  Giorgio  W.  Peirce  is  the  owner  of  these  two 
Lines.  Peirce  Brothers,  Inc.,  of  No.  17  Battery  Place,  New  York 
City,  with  long  experience  as  steamship  people,  are  the  General 
Agents  for  these  two  lines,  besides  handling  other  tonnage. 

Peirce  Brothers,  Inc.,  also  engage  in  purchasing  very  large  quan- 
tities of  American  coal  for  export  to  the  various  organizations  of 
Peirce  Brothers  throughout  Italy. 

The  managing  director  of  the  New  York  office  is  Cavalier  Louis 
Costa. 

—  222  — 


09 

in 

n 
O 

H 

o 

en 
in 
O 

o 

W 
f 

o 

k! 
0 

09 

O 

d 

o 
> 

09 

o 
o 


W.  <R.  GRACE  &  CO. 

WR.  GRACE  &  CO.,  whose  activity  extends  over  seventy 
years  of  remarkable  history,  covering  nearly  every  phase 
of  trading,  transportation,  banking,  and  merchandising, 
began  its  development  in  the  adventurous  determination  of  Wil- 
liam Russell  Grace,  who  was  born  in  Queenstown,  County  Cork, 
Ireland,  May  10,  1832.  He  came  to  New  York  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  and  then,  returning  to  Ireland,  found  his  way  to  Peru, 
where  in  Callao  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  John  Bryce. 
The  latter  ran  a  ship  chandler's  business  and  general  store.  It 
was  during  these  times  that  guano  was  shipped  from  the  islands 
off  the  Peruvian  sea  coast  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  W.  R. 
Grace  was  sent  by  his  employer  to  the  Chincha  Islands  to  super- 
vise the  loading  of  ships  there.  It  was  at  Mr.  Grace's  sugges- 
tion that  the  "Down  East"  ship  builders  increased  the  size  of  their 
ships,  as  it  took  very  little  longer  to  load  a  ship  of  4,000  tons 
than  one  of  2,500. 

After  twenty  years  in  Peru,  during  which  time  Grace  branch 
houses  were  established  in  Lima,  Callao,  Valparaiso,  San  Fran- 
cisco, Santiago  and  Concepcion,  W.  R.  Grace  came  to  New  York, 
and  the  New  York  house  was  established  in  1868.  He  was  elected 
mayor  of  New  York  in  1880  and  again  in  1884.  Throughout  his 
life  W.  R.  Grace  was  prominent  in  banking,  shipping  and  trade 
enterprises,  touching  all  his  ventures  with  the  wand   of  success. 

During  the  financial  troubles  of  Peru,  when,  between  1865  and 
1871,  Peru  had  contracted  a  debt  amounting  with  interest  to 
$200,000,000,  the  Grace  firm  played  an  important  role.  In  1889 
this  firm  of  only  a  generation's  growth  took  upon  its  shoulders  the 
national  debt  of  Peru  of  $250,000,000  in  payment  of  which  it 
contracted  to  develop  the  railroads,  mineral,  chemical,  guano  and 
other  resources  of  the  country. 

In  the  early  days  when  sailing  ships  were  supreme,  it  was  the 
practice  of  the  house  to  charter  ships  and  send  them  on  the 
long  voyage  around  the  southern  end  of  South  America  and  up 
the  West  Coast  to  Chile  and  Peru  where  they  would  load  cargoes 
of  guano  and  nitrate  of  soda  and  other  products  of  the  West 
Coast  and  bring  them  back  to  New  York.  To  make  the  trip  to 
San  Francisco  via  Punta  Arenas  required  as  much  as  110  days. 
These  ships  carried  to  Peru  and  Chile  mostly  kerosene  and  naval 
stores,  together  with  agricultural  implements. 

It  was  in  the  nineties  that  the  first  steam  vessel  was  put  in 
service  by  the  firm,  and  this  marks  the  beginning  of  the  Grace 
Line.     The  first  steamers  were  built   in  England;  later  on  the  fleet 

—  22i  — 


u 

<■     -JL.     J 

T7^ 

\  / 

Mwtw 

\  i 

L 

w 

"u" 

"0" 

! 

VJ 

& 

-  r 

Kt 

-'/■ 

was  made  larger  by  ships  built  in  American  shipyards.  From  the 
nineties  until  February,  1918,  the  line  operated  only  freight  ves- 
sels, but  on  February  2,  1918,  the  Santa  Ana  sailed  on  her 
maiden  voyage  to  the  West  Coast  being  the  first  American  pas- 
senger liner  in  that  service.  Later  the  Santa  Luisa,  Santa  Teresa 
and  Santa  Flisa  were  put  on  the  run  in  the  order  named,  and 
today  they  are  the  only  American  passenger  ships  running  to  the 
West   Coast  of   South   America   from   New  York. 

Today  the  Grace  House  has  its  branches  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  There  are  branch  houses  all  over  the  United  States,  Can- 
ada. Central  America,  the  West  Indies,  South  America,  Europe, 
Asia  and  Africa. 


JOHN  S^NDEtRSON  BENSEL 

MR.  BENSEL  was  born  in  New  York,  1863,  and  was  graduated 
from  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology  in  1884.  He  was  a 
rodman  employed  on  the  New  York  Aqueduct  and  later  As- 
sistant Engineer  and  Assistant  Supervisor  in  charge  of  improvement 
of  Dock  and  Freight  Terminals  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Was 
Assistant  Engineer  of  the  Department  of  Docks,  New  York  City,  in 
charge  of  construction  work  on  the  North  River  waterfront  from 
1889  to  1895,  Engineer  for  waterfront  improvements  for  the  Central 
Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  the  Girard  Estate  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
city  of  Philadelphia  in  improvements  of  a  mile  of  waterfront  on  the 
Delaware  River.  Was  Engineer-in-Chief,  Department  of  Docks, 
City  of  New  York,  1898  to  1906;  Commissioner  of  Docks,  1906  to 
1908;  president  of  the  Board  of  Water  Supply  constructing  the 
new  Catskill  System,  1908  to  1911,  and  State  Engineer  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  1911  to  1915,  employed  on  the  construction  of  the 
Barge  Canal,  traversing  the  State.  At  present  time  is  consulting 
engineer  for  various  municipalities  in  the  State  of  New  York  and 
consulting  engineer  on  the  tunnel  now  under  way  connecting  the 
States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey  under  the  Hudson  River. 
Was  President  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  1910, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  this  society  and  of  the  American  Society 
of  Mechanical  Engineers,  the  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers, 
and  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers  of  Great  Britain.  He  was 
Major  of  Engineers,  Army  of  the  FJnited  States,  in  the  recent 
war,  commanding  the  125th  Engineers  Batallion. 

Mr.  Bensel  maintains  a  suite  of  offices  at  18  East  41st  Street. 

—  225  — 


THE  VEtRSHIiHG  SQUA'RE  HOTELS 

HAS  anyone  ever  stopped  to  consider  the  value  of  the  hotel  to 
the  Port  of  New  York? 

The  character  of  the  big  caravansary  of  the  metropolis  is 
one  of  the  best  indices  of  the  city's  life,  and  plays  a  part  in  its 
existence  to  which,  apparently,  little  attention  is  given  by  the  gen- 
eral  public. 

But  this  is  not  so  with  the  observing.  While  there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  hotels  expand  with  the  growth  of  a  city,  it  is  the  hotel  which 
takes  the  initiative.  The  modern  caravansary  is  built  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  city  ten  or  twenty  years  ahead  of  its  construction,  and 
improvements  follow  in  the  building  line  with  which  the  city  never 
does  catch  up. 

The  hotel  advertises  itself  and  the  city  all  over  the  country- 
all  over  the  world,  and  more  than  anything  aids  in  putting  it  on 
the  map.  Its  reputation  inspires  travel  from  the  interior  and  from 
abroad.  It  brings  distinguished  people  to  the  country's  metropolis, 
persons  of  all  branches  of  learning  and  professions  and  trades, 
great  architects  and  builders,  men  of  science  and  skill  of  all  kinds, 
scholars  and  artisans,  merchants,  shipping  men,  captains  of  indus- 
try, nobles,  kings  and  queens  and  capital. 

All  of  this  means  the  building  of  bigger  and  better  ships,  and 
the  reputation  of  the  metropolis  and  the  country  behind  it  spreads 
to  the  masses,  and  they  crowd  like  flies  around  the  sugar  bowl  and 
pour  out  of  Europe  to  reach  the  Mecca  of  Opportunity.  More 
ships  have  to  be  built  for  their  accommodation,  more  docks  must  be 
provided  to  accommodate  the  ships,  more  men  employed  to  take 
care  of  the  piers  and  handle  the  ships  with  their  crowds  of  human- 
ity and  tons  of  freight. 

Tugs  and  barges  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  ships  and  ferryboats 
must  be  built  to  care  for  the  increasing  travellers  and  shipments 
from  the  interior. 

The  hotel  is  the  way  station  for  the  traveller  going  abroad,  and 
the  better  the  accommodations  of  the  hotel,  the  better  must  be  the 
accommodations  on  shipboard,  and  the  comparison  has  had  much  to 
do  with  the  construction  of  the  floating  palaces  now  plying  the 
Atlantic  Ocean. 

Persons  coming  to  New  York  and  not  going  abroad  demand 
entertainment,  and  usually  want  the  sort  which  the  hometown  fails 
to  provide.  Here  again  the  hotel  helps  the  Port  of  New  York,  for 
the  hotel  guests  want  to  sail  up  the  river,  or  a  spin  about  the  bay, 
or  a  short  turn  out  in  the  ocean.  The  demand  has  resulted  in  the 
building  and  operation  of  fleets  of  pleasure  craft  which  in  the  sum- 
mer season  help  swell  the  receipts  of  the  port. 

—  226  — 


VI 


& 


/    s 


\7 


-e-e-e-e-e-e- 


u 


The  Pershing  Square  group  of  hotels,  of  which  John  McE.  Bow- 
man is  the  president,  are  the  finest  and  most  modern  in  the  world. 
Thousands,  yes,  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men,  women  and  children 
are  registered  in  these  hotels  during  the  year.  They  include  the 
Biltmore,  Commodore,  Belmont  and  Murray  Hill,  also  the  Ansonia, 
on  the  upper  west  side  of  Manhattan  Island. 

The  Pershing  Square  group  of  hotels  are  of  vital  importance 
to  the  City  of  New  York.  They  are  just,  as  necessary  as  gas,  water 
and  electricity.  Prom  the  day  these  hotels  first  opened,  it  has  been 
possible  for  the  traveller  to  live  like  a  prince  and  dine  like  an  epi- 
cure. The  system  of  hotel  organization  devised  by  Mr.  Bowman, 
is  the  most  marvelous  development  of  its  kind  in  the  industry.  It 
is  a  unit  in  type,  management  and  organization.  It  is  more  than  a 
unit — it  is  even  complex  in  its  manifold  application  and  geograph- 
ical extension  of  its  activities.  It  is  today  the  greatest  hotel  sys- 
tem in  the  world. 

The  hotel  industry  occupies  a  field  of  its  own,  and  the  slightest 
flaw  in  its  workings  is  sufficient  to  bring  one  of  its  structures  down 
with  a  crash.  In  the  conduct  of  a  big  hotel  efficiency  is  a  finely 
spun  thread  of  experience,  knowledge  and  perfect  organization.  The 
hotel  has  more  ramifications  than  any  other  branch  of  industry; 
there  are  more  corners  to  cover,  more  leaks  to  watch,  more  trades 
to  come  in  contact  with,  and  more  varieties  of  human  nature  to 
deal   with. 

One  has  to  think  in  hundreds  of  thousands  when  it  comes  to 
numbering  the  visitors  registering  at  the  six  hotels  in  the  course  of 
one  year.  The  count,  actually  equals  the  combined  populations  of 
Everett,  Wash. ;  Lewiston,  Me. ;  Beaumont,  Tex. ;  Lima,  Ohio  ;  Cedar 
Rapids,  la.;  Charlotte,  N.  C. ;  Joliet,  111.;  Muncie,  Ind. ;  Lexington, 
Ky. ;  Shreveport,  La. ;  Fargo,  N.  D. ;  Colorado  Springs,  Colo. ;  Pine 
Bluff,  Ark. ;  Selma,  Ala. ;  Madison,  Wis. ;  Emporia,  Kas. ;  Battle 
Creek,  Mich.;  Talahassee,  Fla. ;  Alexandria,  Va. ;  Columbia,  S.  C. ; 
and  Columbia,  Mo.  More  than  613,800  guests  register  annually 
in  these  hotels,  and  other  visitors  each  year  number  over  3,384,000. 
The  total  number  of  visitors  is  more  than  the  population  of  the 
first  84  American  cities  announced  by  the  census  reports  for  1920. 

To  manufacture  the  stock  of  china  in  constant  use  in  these  hotels 
would  require  the  year's  output  of  a  good-sized  factory,  for  555,- 
129  pieces  are  carried  on  the  pantry  shelves.  Some  idea  of  the 
enormous  breakage  may  be  obtained  from  the  fact  that  in  twelve 
months,  169,229  pieces  have  to  be  replaced.  Of  silverware  244,893 
pieces  are  in  use.     Were  the  year's  wash  spread  out  to  dry  on  roofs. 


227 


t7 


<^»«^> 


V7 


iffli 


ZZ\ 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


rx 


XJ 


T7 


X7 


T7 


JZ\^ 


XJ 


Zi 


Ta 


f^ 


£± 


XT 


XJ 


the  sheets  and  pillow  eases  alone  would  cover  every  roof  on  Manhat- 
tan Island,  while  the  table-cloths  would  need  most  of  those  between 
the  East  River  and  Flatbush.  The  laundries  turn  out  annually  over 
36,000,000  pieces  of  bed  linen  and  17,305,000  of  table  linen. 

In  the  6,000,000  pieces  of  mail  that  are  received  and  distributed 
annually  arrive  everything  from  letters  to  live  animals.  Early  veg- 
etables from  Florida  and  California,  and  tropical  fruits  are  not 
uncommon.  Even  alligators  have  been  received,  and  one  parcel 
contained   fourteen   live   rabbits. 

It  would  take  a  good-sized  book  to  tell  the  many  interesting 
things  that  happen  in  the  Pershing  Square  group  of  hotels.  They 
are  a  vital  necessity  to  the  Port  of  New  York,  in  fact,  just  as  neces- 
sary as  the  port  is  to  the  City  of  New  York.  Outside  of  New  York 
the  group  includes  the  Griswold,  at  New  London,  Conn. ;  the  Belle- 
view,  at  Belleair  Heights,  Fla. ;  the  Sevilla,  at  Havana ;  and  the 
Westchester  Biltmore  now  building,  at  Rye,  N.  Y. ;  also  the  Provi- 
dence Biltmore,  a  new  and  very  wonderful  hotel,  at  Providence,  R.  I. 

COLUMBIA  BRONZE  CORPORATION 

THIS   organization   manufactures   bronze   propellers   for    steam- 
ships  and  smaller  boats.      The   plant   is   located   at   Freeport, 
Long  Island,  New  York,  within  twenty-five  (25)  miles  of  New 
York   City,   and  is   the   nearest   bronze   foundry   equipped   for   the 
manufacture    of    propellers    and    other    heavy    manganese    bronze 
castings  to  the  port  of  New  York. 

The  business  was  originally  organized  in  1871  as  the  Colum- 
bian Brass  Foundry,  near  the  water  front  in  Brooklyn,  and  was 
moved  to  Freeport  and  started  the  manufacture  of  bronze  pro- 
pellers in  1905.  Since  1908  the  growth  of  the  business  has  been 
steady  and  substantial,  and  in  the  year  1920  it  is  believed  that  a 
larger  number  of  bi'onze  blades  for  built-up  steamship  propellers 
were  cast  in  this  plant  than  any  other  plant  in  the  world,  some 
600  blades  and  about  60  complete  built-up  propellers  having  been 
manufactured   there. 

The  active  officers  are:  Louis  J.  Hall,  President;  Wilbur  H. 
Young,  Vice-President ;  Robert  A.  Patrick,  Secretary.  The  New 
York  office  is  located  at  522  Fifth  Avenue. 


—  228 


THE   TIDE    W&FTER  OIL  COMPANY 

FORTY-THREE  years  ago  all  the  crude  petroleum  that  was 
refined  at  the  seaboard  was  transported  from  the  Western 
Pennsylvania  oil  fields  in  small  wooden  barrels  or  in  two  or 
three  small  upright  wooden  tanks  loaded  on  a  flat  ear. 

In  1878  three  men  with  the  courage  of  their  convictions  formed 
the  Tide  Water  Pipe  Company,  Limited,  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
porting petroleum  to  the  refineries  on  the  seaboard,  and  started  the 
construction  of  a  pipe  line  from  the  Bradford  oil  field  to  Williams- 
port,  Pennsylvania. 

By  June,  1879,  the  line  was  completed  to  Williamsport,  and 
oil  transshipped  by  rail  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  But  all 
the  problems  were  not  solved.  The  competitive  freight  rate  from 
the  oil  regions  that  had  been  $1.60  per  barrel  was  reduced  to  20c, 
and  as  though  this  were  not  enough,  a  rival  company  bought  up  all 
but  one  of  the  refinery  customers  for  crude  oil.  This  sole  refinery 
was  located  at  Sixty-sixth  Street,  New  York  City,  and  had  been 
condemned  by  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company  and  forced 
to  move.  This  commercial  blow  wTould  have  staggered  most  men 
and  driven  the  company  into  bankruptcy;  but  the  projectors  had 
faith  in  the  enterprise  and  the  financiers  believed  in  the  men.  Soon 
two  great  refineries  were  under  way  at  Chester,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Bayonne,  New  Jersey,  and  later  the  pipe  line  was  extended  to 
Bayonne. 

In  1888  the  Tide  Water  Oil  Company  was  organized,  taking  over 
all  the  Tide  Water  interests  in  the  East,  and  consolidating  its 
refineries  into  one  large  plant  at  Bayonne. 

From  the  beginning  the  management  took  great  pride  in  the 
quality  and  uniformity  of  its  products,  and  bent  every  energy  to- 
ward making  its  output  the  best  that  could  be  produced.  To-day 
its  trade-marked  brands  of  Veedol  lubricants  and  Tydol  gasoline 
are  as  much  a  standard  of  quality  to  the  users  of  automobiles  as 
are  its  brands  of  kerosene  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Far  East. 

Where  originally  there  was  one  Tide  Water  corporation  engaged 
in  one  phase  of  the  petroleum  business,  to-day  there  are  fifteen 
companies,  all  busily  specializing  in  some  feature  of  producing, 
transporting,  refining  and  marketing  petroleum. 

A  large  factor  in  the  success  of  the  Tide  Water  Oil  Company 
has  been  the  faithful  and  untiring  work  of  its  old  and  experienced 
men — personal  ownership  of  the  business  could  not  have  done  more. 
A  record  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  men  who  have  served  con- 
tinuously for  twenty-five  years  or  more  is  a  record  of  which  to  be 
proud,  and  the  Company  regards  them  as  one  of  its  greatest  assets. 

—  229  — 


W.  &  A.  FLETCHER  COMPANY 

ON  THE  Jersey  side  of  the  Hudson  River  almost  directly  op- 
posite the  spot  where,  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago,  Robert 
Fulton  started  the  "Clermont"  on  its  first  voyage  there  is  sit- 
uated one  of  the  most  complete  and  best  equipped  ship  building  and 
repair  yards  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  In  this  plant  notable  records 
have  been  made,  unusual  feats  of  construction  have  been  accom- 
plished, experiments  and  developments  have  been  carried  out  which 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  shipping  fraternity,  intensified 
the  atmosphere  of  romance  around  the  shipbuilding  industry  in  this 
country,  and  sustained  the  historic  interest  attaching  to  that  part 
of  the  Hudson  since  the  launching  of  the  woi'ld's  first  steamboat. 
A  crowd  of  people,  some  confident  and  some  skeptical,  lined  the 
shores  of  the  river  on  that  momentous  occasion  to  watch  an  event 
which  was  the  beginning  of  a  revolution  in  the  method  of  propulsion 
of  ships.  On  the  identical  spot  where  many  of  these  spectators 
stood,  there  now  exists  a  plant  supplied  with  machinery  and  appli- 
ances never  dreamed  of  by  Fulton,  manned  by  a  highly  efficient  or- 
ganization which  has  upheld  the  tradition  of  that  notable  achieve- 
ment and  performed  work  which  has  been  comparatively  of  as  great 
a  significance  as  the  launching  of  the  Clermont. 

The  plant  is  that  of  the  W.  &  A.  Fletcher  Company,  whose 
nameplate  is  written  largely  upon  the  very  foundations  of  our  in- 
dustry of  marine  construction  and  engineering.  Sixty-eight  years 
ago  the  company  was  formed  and  a  small  shop  opened  in  West 
Street,  New  York.  The  space  at  the  disposal  of  the  venturers  into 
the  new  business  was  very  limited,  but  despite  this  handicap  the 
plant  was  well  supplied  with  the  necessary  equipment,  and  work  pro- 
ceeded apace.  Contracts  began  to  come  in,  and  in  an  incredibly 
short  time  the  Fletcher  name  was  famous. 

The  quarters  on  West  Street,  however,  were  soon  taxed  up  to  their 
full  capacity,  and  it  was  found  that  if  the  company  was  to  cope 
with  the  demands  that  were  being  made  upon  it  a  much  larger  plant 
would  have  to  be  built.  Accordingly,  in  1890,  a  site  was  acquired  in 
Hoboken,  where  the  present  yard  now  occupies  over  two  blocks  of 
waterfront  property  on  Hudson  Street.  There  is  nothing  prosaic 
about  the  plant  or  its  organization,  for  a  survey  of  its  achievements 
may  be  interpreted  as  one  of  the  most  graphic  chapters  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  growth  of  shipbuilding  in  America.  If  the  fleet  of  ves- 
sels of  all  descriptions — river,  sound  and  lake  steamers,  ferryboats, 
tugs  and  lighters — which  have  been  equipped  wholly  or  in  part  by 
the  Fletcher  Company  could  be  gathered  together,  they  would  fur- 
nish the  most  perfect  illustration  of  progress  of  the  art  of  shipbuild- 

—  230  — 


c* 

m 

Q 

c- 

O 

fi- 

rs 
S 

0 

w 

^ 

~l 

o^ 

s 

— 

-s- 

c 

o 

— *. 

w 

2 

a 

^ 

u 

K 

u. 

S3 

**1 

o 
w 

C5 

s- 

"* 

-i 

C5 

o 

3 

^3 

a 

^ 

•<= 

ZX 


L/XJL^X  ^X.  L^X  -£X  -^X  .XX  ^X.  .£X 


A 


\7 


/x 

t7 


^ 


ei 


«" 

-6- 

-6- 

u 

VJ 

ing  during  the  last  half  century,  and  would  show  clearly  the  various 
stages  through  which  ships  have  passed  in  their  development  from 
the  crude  vessel  of  Fulton  to  the  modern  floating  palaces. 

From  its  very  inception  the  Fletcher  Company  has  been  closely 
identified  with  this  development.  Its  officials  have  devoted  special 
attention,  however,  to  the  perfecting  of  the  marine  engine,  and  have 
contributed  in  no  small  measure  to  the  present  efficiency  of  steam 
propulsion  for  vessels.  The  company's  fame  for  the  construction 
of  the  beam  engine  is  world  wide,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
even  at  the  present  time,  when  this  type  of  prime  mover  is  so  rarely 
used,  they  still  use  as  their  cable  address  "Beamengine." 

Success  followed  success  in  their  engineering  experiments,  and 
with  a  prophetic  eye  to  the  future  possibilities  of  the  use  of  the 
steam  turbine  in  ships,  the  heads  of  the  firm  carried  out  elaborate 
plans  for  its  perfection.  Their  dream  materialized  in  1906  when  they 
built  and  equipped  the  "Governor  Cobb,"  which  was  the  first  turbine 
driven  ship  to  be  turned  out  in  an  American  yard.  Not  content  with 
this  triumph  they  carried  their  efforts  still  further  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  completed  the  "Yale"  and  "Harvard,"  which  hold  the  rec- 
ord for  speed  among  the  passenger  and  freight  ships  engaged  in 
commercial  work  in  this  country. 

The  present  plant  has  been  carefully  and  conservatively  devel- 
oped. Concrete  roads  connect  the  various  shops  with  the  piers  and 
dry  docks,  and  a  standard  guage  track  is  laid  along  the  roads  and 
extended  down  the  three  piers.  This  track  permits  of  the  use  of 
locomotive  cranes  and  enables  freight  from  the  Ffoboken  Shore  Rail- 
road with  which  the  track  is  directly  connected  to  be  quickly  trans- 
ported. 

About  a  year  ago  a  new  floating  dry  dock  was  put  in  commis- 
sion ;  this  is  of  the  8,500-ton  design  with  wooden  pontoons  and  steel 
wings,  measures  440  feet  on  the  keel  blocks,  and  has  a  draught  at 
low  water  of  25  feet. 

Until  the  last  eight  years  the  Fletcher  Company  confined  its 
activities  towards  the  building  of  new  vessels,  and  during  that  pe- 
riod was  identified  with  the  production  of  more  than  three  hundred 
vessels  of  every  type  from  the  sturdy  harbor  tug  to  the  swift,  splen- 
did passenger  vessels  that  ply  our  seas  and  rivers. 

The  organization  of  skilled  workmen  with  which  the  company  has 
surrounded  itself  constitutes  a  unique  phase  in  the  history  of  the 
company.  The  advantages  of  the  apprenticeship  system  were  early 
realized,  and  the  present  staff  has  been  built  up  from  the  boys  who 
joined  the  company  to  learn  their  respective  trades.  The  effective- 
ness of  this  svstem  is  reflected  in  the  rapidity  and  thoroughness  with 
which  contracts  are  completed. 

—  232  — 


T7 


\7 


FS^ 


w 


\  / 


\  / 


@H@HSHSH@S^^ 


The  Fletcher  Company's  activities  are  now  carried  on  by  the 
sons  and  grandsons  of  the  original  firm,  Andrew  Fletcher  being  presi- 
dent and  treasurer,  H.  M.  Fletcher,  vice-president,  and  Andrew 
Fletcher,  Jr.,  secretary. 


THE  DELAWARE,  LACK&£WANNS$ 
&  WESTERN  RAILROAD  CO. 

EVERY  railroad  with  terminals  in  New  York  Harbor  is  of  ne- 
cessity required  to  identify  itself  more  or  less  with  the  marine 
activities  of  the  Port.  Many  of  them  operate  great  fleets  of 
tugboats,  lighters  and  barges  to  facilitate  the  movement  of  their 
tonnage.  Of  these  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western  R.  R. 
Company  has  perhaps  as  complete  a  marine  organization  as  any, 
which  is  operated  under  the  competent  management  of  John  M. 
Emery  with  headquarters  in  Hoboken. 

In  1903  the  Lackawanna  purchased  the  Hoboken  Ferry  prop- 
erty, the  equipment  consisting  of  13  boats,  with  3  ferries  operating 
between  New  York  and  Hoboken.  Five  of  these  boats  have  since 
been  sold  and  one  lost  by  fire  but  7  double  deck  steel  boats  have 
been  added  to  the  fleet  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,500,000. 

The  Company  now  owns  15  ferry  boats  with  a  registered  ton- 
nage of  17,791  tons,  equipped  with  the  most  modern  devices  for 
safety  and  comfort,  operating  4  ferry  lines  from  Hoboken. 

The  Company  took  over  the  lighterage  business  in  October,  1904, 
purchasing  the  equipment  from  a  company  who  had  done  the  work 
for  them  under  contract.  The  equipment  at  that  time  consisted  of 
7  tugboats,  4  steam  lighters,  10  open  lighters,  13  covered  barges 
and  12  car  floats — a  total  of  46  boats. 

The  present  lighterage  division  fleet  consists  of  197  boats,  an 
increase  of  151,  as  follows: 

18  tugboats,  tonnage  3,544;  5  steam  lighters,  tonnage,  1,937; 
64  covered  barges,  tonnage  25,035 ;  45  derrick  lighters,  tonnage 
21.450;  30  car  floats  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  365  cars;  35 
grain  boats,  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  1,000,000  bushels;  and 
30  harbor  coal  boats  with  a  capacity  of  10,800  tons. 

For  a  number  of  years  prior  to  1916  the  Company  operated  a 
fleet  of  sea-going  barges  with  a  carrying  capacity  of  24,750  tons,, 
handled  by  two  sea-going  tugs  with  a  gross  tonnage  of  640  tons. 
This  entire  fleet,  however,  was  sold  in  1916. 


\S\ 


XT 


233 


THE  MUNSON  STEAMSHIP  LINE 

THE  Munson  Steamship  Line  was  originally  started  in  1872 
by  Walter  D.  Munson  by  the  operation  of  sailing  vessels  be- 
tween the  United  States  north  Atlantic  ports  and  Havana, 
Cuba.  Later,  as  the  business  of  the  Company  extended,  charter- 
ing of  steam  vessels  for  the  carrying  of  bulk  cargoes  of  coal,  oil, 
sugar  and  molasses  was  engaged  in.  The  carrying  of  general 
cargo  from  New  York  to  Cuban  ports  was  begun  in  1876,  sailing 
vessels  being  operated   in   this   service. 

During  the  years  of  1914,  1915,  and  1916,  due  to  the  fore- 
sight of  Mr-  Frank  C.  Munson,  the  Munson  Steamship  Line  had 
built  for  its  use  12  American  steamers  of  the  most  modern  and 
up-to-date  design,  making  a  total  of  18  steamers  which  it  now 
owns. 

The  business  of  the  Company  was  incorporated  under  the  name 
of  the  Munson  Steamship  Line  early  in  1899.  The  Company  has 
always  been  100%  American  owned,  all  of  its  capital  being  held 
by  American  citizens. 

Mr.  Frank  C.  Munson,  son  of  the  founder  of  the  business  and 
President  of  the  Munson  Steamship  Line,  is  a  typically  ener- 
getic American  business  man  who  devotes  himself  unceasingly  to 
making  a  success  of  anything  he  undertakes.  It  is  to  his  untiring 
efforts  and  indefatigable  zeal  that  the  great  steamship  line  owes 
the  wonderful  development  and  popularity  which  it  has  now  at- 
tained, and  to  which  the  new  steamers  and  the  new  office  building 
are   a   fitting  monument. 

The  presidents  of  the  Munson  Steamship  Line  have  been :  Wal- 
ter D.  Munson,  its  founder ;  Carlos  W.  Munson  and  Frank  C. 
Munson,  sons  of  Walter  D.  Munson.  The  other  officers  of  the 
Company  who  have  ably  assisted  in  the  advancement  of  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Line  are:  Alfred  H.  Bromwell,  Vice-President ;  Charles 
M.  Dimm,  Treasurer;  John  W.  Reynolds,  Secretary.  And  heads 
of  departments  who  have  long  been  with  the  Company  and  have 
worked  up  from  the  bottom,  are:  Captain  Asmus  Leonhard,  Gen- 
eral Superintendent  for  Cuba ;  Chester  B.  Kellogg,  Freight  Traffic 
Manager;  Frank  M.  Kellogg,  Manager  Sugar  Department;  Leon- 
ard Brooks,  Auditor;  Frank  C.  Osborn,  Manager  Ownership 
Operations  Department;  Sinclair  Graham,  Manager  Purchasing 
Department;  George  G.  Mcintosh,  Passenger  Traffic  Manager; 
R.  A.  Breese,  Jr.,  New  York  Port  Manager;  Kenneth  E.  Knowles. 
Manager  South  American  Department. 

—  23 1  — 


"RADIO  CORPORATION  of  AMERICA 

THE  RADIO  CORPORATION  OF  AMERICA  was  organized 
on   October   17,    1919,    at    which   time    the    radio    interests    of 
the    Marconi    Wireless    Telegraph    Company    of    America    and 
the  General  Electric  Company  were  merged  into  one  Corporation. 

"Via  RCA"  is  an  abbreviation  of  the  words — "Via  Radio  Cor- 
poration of  America."  The  meaning  goes  further,  however,  for 
this  Corporation  is  the  result  of  over  twenty  years  of  pioneer 
work  in  the  direct  application  of  radio  to  the  service  of  mankind. 
It  is  a  strictly  American  organization,  owned  and  controlled  by 
Americans,  and  its  world-wide  activities  in  the  art  of  trans-oceanic 
and  marine  communication  are  planned  for  the  best  interests  of 
American    Commerce. 

Back  of  the  Radio  Corporation  of  America  stand  the  splendid 
research  facilities  of  its  associates  in  the  field  of  electricity ;  the 
General  Electric  Company,  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company  and  the  Western  Electric  Company.  These  fam- 
ous companies  are  partners  in  the  World  Wide  Wireless  program 
of  the  Radio  Corporation  of  America.  To  this  end  is  lent  every 
electrical  development  which  can  be  advantageously  applied  to 
modern  radio  practice. 

It  is  for  this  reason,  therefore,  that  the  "radio  way"  has  so 
prominently  attained  the  three  essentials  of  international  com- 
munication :  accuracy,  speed  and  economy. 

Today,  the  RCA  system  maintains  direct  wireless  service  with 
Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Scandinavia,  Japan  and  Hawaii. 
In  addition,  plans  are  in  progress  for  an  extensive  service  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  South  America  and  between  South 
America  and  Europe. 

Radio  communication  is  now  a  highly  effective  and  practical 
business  aid.  Radiograms  are  being  exchanged  daily  between  the 
United  States  and  foreign  countries  and  between  ships  of  all 
nations  in  ever  increasing  numbers,  and  American,  European  and 
Far  Eastern  business  interests  have  come  to  appreciate  the  ex- 
cellent service  which  this  modern  method  of  international  and 
marine  communication  offers. 

The  Radio  Corporation  is  not  only  the  pioneer  in  continent  to 
continent  radio  service  but  in  ship-to-ship  and  ship-to-shore  radio 
communication  as  well.  To  this  end  there  has  been  established  by 
the  Radio  Corporation  of  America  at  various  points  of  both  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  Coasts  radio  stations  which  incorporate  the 
last  word  in  marine  wireless  service.  Thousands  of  vessels  are 
therefore  in  a  position  to  secure  instantaneous  communication  to 
and  from  the  United  States  when  at  sea. 

—  235  — 


ELLERMAN'S  WILSON  LINE,  Ltd. 

HEAD  office  of  the  Company  is  in  Hull,  England,  and  the 
Company's  Fleet,  prior  to  the  War,  consisted  of  eighty- 
eight  (88)  100-A  British  vessels,  forty  (40)  of  which  were 
sunk  by  submarines  and  mines,  including  many  first  class  passenger 
carriers;  and  twenty  (20)  new  steamers  with  all  modern  improve- 
ments for  carrying  freight  and  passengers  have  been  added  to  the 
fleet  since  the  end  of  the  war;  and  eleven  (11)  more  are  building  at 
the  present  time. 

The  New  York-Hull  service  was  started  over  forty  years  ago 
and  now  has  developed  to  the  present  high  state  of  efficiency,  with 
regular  sailings  from  New  York. 

The  Wilson  Line  steamers  "Francisco,"  "Marengo,"  "Galileo," 
"Toronto,"  and  "Idaho"  compare  equally  with  the  finest  freight 
vessels  now  crossing  the  Atlantic. 

The  Wilson  Line  was  founded  by  Charles  Henry  and  Arthur 
Wilson.  Charles  Henry  Wilson  afterward  became  Lord  Nunburn- 
holme.  The  Line  was  bought  in  1915  by  Sir  John  R.  Ellerman, 
Bart,  who  now  controls  the  Company. 

Up  to  last  April,  representation  of  Ellerman's  Wilson  Line  Lim- 
ited, at  New  York,  was  in  the  hands  of  Sanderson  &  Son,  but  on 
April  1,  1921,  Sir  John  R.  Ellerman  opened  his  own  office  in  New 
York  under  the  name  of  Ellerman's  Wilson  Line  New  York  Incor- 
porated, who  are  situated  at  18  Broadway,  and  are  now  carrying 
on  the  operation  of  the  Hull  steamers. 

The  New  York  Office  also  operates  the  well-known  Phoenix  Line, 
between  New  York  and  Antwerp,  Belgium;  and  likewise  are  joint 
Agents  with  Messrs.  Norton,  Lilly  &  Co.,  in  operating  the  American 
Mediterranean  Levant  Line  steamers  to  Levant  and  Black  Sea  ports. 

C.  B.  RICH$£R<D  &  CO. 

THE  firm   of  C.  B.   Richard  &  Co.,  of  No.  29  Broadway,  New 
York,   was   established   on   May   1,   1817,   and   is   probably   the 
oldest     shipping    concern    in    the    United    States.       Oscar    L. 
Richard,  together  with   Leonard  W.   Simmons,  Albert  F.   Egelhoff 
and  George  N.  Richard,  son  of  the  senior  member,  now  constitute 
the  firm. 

For  more  than  40  years — until  1891 — they  acted  as  agents  of 
the  Hamburg  American  Line ;  since  then  they  have  represented  the 
Uranium  Line  to  Rotterdam,  Prince  Line  to  the  Mediterranean, 
Russian  Volunteer  Fleet  to  Libau,  Lloyd  Italiano  to  Italy,  Otto- 
man-America Line  to  the  Orient  and  the  Polish  Line  to  Danzig. 

They  also  operated  their  own  steamers  and  sailing  vessels,  and 
steamers  of  the  U.  S.  Shipping  Board  as  well. 

—  236  — 


•/. 


C 

a 


<^ 


> 

X 


en 

— 


2 


MARINE   DEPARTMENT   OF    THE 
NEW  YORK  CENTRAL  'RAILROAD 

THE  history  of  the  development  of  the  Marine  Department  of 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  shows  that  the  managements  of 
the  company,  from  its  earliest  operations,  recognized  the  need 
of  an  adequate  local  harbor  service  in  connection  with  the  handling 
of  the  traffic  of  New  York  City. 

Prior  to  May  1,  1881,  the  railroad's  lighterage  work  was  done 
under  contract,  the  late  John  H.  Starin  having  been  the  last  to 
render  service  under  this  arrangement. 

While  the  marine  equipment  needed  in  New  York  harbor  during 
the  New  York  Central's  early  operations  was  limited  and  would 
make  a  poor  showing  alongside  the  splendid  equipment  now  in  use, 
it  was  nevertheless  adequate  to  handle  the  business  efficiently  at  all 
times. 

The  New  York  Central  began  doing  its  own  lighterage  work  in 
New  York  harbor  on  May  1,  1881,  when  the  New  York  Central 
Lighterage  Company,  with  Charles  A.  Pool  &  Co.,  managers,  was 
organized  to  handle  the  business.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  January  1,  1890,  when  Gibson  L.  Douglas  succeeded  Charles 
A.  Pool  &  Co.  Mr.  Douglas  resigned  in  the  spring  of  1897  to  be- 
come vice-president  of  the  West  Transit  Company,  the  New  York 
Central's  line  of  steamers  plying  the  Great  Lakes. 

Alfred  K.  Skitt  succeeded  Mr.  Douglas  and  on  November  23, 
1898,  he  was  succeeded  by  Walter  B.  Pollock,  who  is  still  in  charge 
of  the  department. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Pollock's  appointment  the  name  of  New  York 
Central  Lighterage  Company  was  abolished  and  ever  since  then  this 
branch  of  the  railroad's  service  has  been  known  as  the  Marine  De- 
partment of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad. 

The  greatest  growth  in  the  railroad's  Marine  Department  has 
been  during  the  last  twenty  years.  Among  the  first  important 
changes  made  after  Mr.  Pollock  became  manager  was  the  transfer 
of  the  operation  of  the  West  Shore  ferries  to  the  Marine  Depart- 
ment on  April  1,  1899.  Prior  to  this  time  the  ferryboats  had  been 
operated  under  the  direction  of  the  River  Division  Superintendent  of 
the  West  Shore  Railroad. 

The  tremendous  growth  in  the  ferry  business  necessitated  larger 
and  more  up-to-date  facilities  and  as  fast  as  new  equipment  was 
available  the  obsolete  boats  were  sold.  The  old  side-wheelers  in  use 
between  New  York  and  Weehawken,  N.  J.,  when  the  operation  of 
the  ferries  was  turned  over  to  the  Marine  Department,  have  all  been 
replaced    by    double-deck,    screw    ferry-boats,    except    the    Buffalo, 

—  238  — 


T7 


rt7 


FST 


built  in  1896,  which  is  still  capable  of  service  and  is  held  in  reserve. 
It  is  expected  that  it  will  be  replaced  by  a  modern  ferryboat  at  an 

early  date. 

The  old  side-wheel  boats,  replaced  by  modern  ferryboats,  were 
the  Chester  W.  Chapin,  Midland,  Albany,  OsAvcgo,  Newburgh,  and 
Kingston.  Instead  of  these  old-fashioned  side-wheelers  the  com- 
pany now  operates  boats  with  a  capacity  two  and  a  half  times  as 
great.  These  boats  are  the  West  Point,  Syracuse,  Rochester,  Utica, 
Niagara,  Catskill,  Weehawken  and  Stony  Point. 

The  equipment  of  the  Marine  Department  of  the  New  York 
Central  consists  of  306  units,  classed  as  follows: 

Nine  ferryboats,  62  car  floats,  34  grain  boats,  21  tugs,  7  steam 
lighters,  8  steam  hoisting  barges,  2  gasoline  hoisting  barges,  26  hand 
hoisting  barges,  11  scow  barges,  109  covered  barges  and  17  cov- 
ered refrigerator  barges. 

The  tugboats  are  all  of  steel  construction  and  19  of  them  have 
been  built  in  the  last  twenty  years.  The  steel  tugs  replaced  old 
wooden  ones  which  could  no  longer  handle  the  increased  business. 

Six  of  the  seven  steam  lighters  are  of  steel  construction  and  one 
of  wood.  All  of  them  have  been  built  since  1900.  These  boats  are 
used  to  carry  express  and  light  freight  which  requires  prompt 
handling. 

The  eight  steam  hoisting  barges  each  have  a  lifting  capacity  of 
from  twenty  to  forty  tons  and  are  used  for  handling  heavy  freight. 
The  two  gasoline  lifting  barges  each  have  a  capacity  of  five  tons, 
while  the  twenty-six  hand  hoisting  barges  each  have  a  capacity  of 
from  two  to  five  tons.  All  of  the  hoisting  barges,  except  two,  have 
been  built  since  Mr.  Pollock  became  manager  of  the  Marine  De- 
partment. 

Eight  of  the  eleven  scow  barges  are  of  comparatively  recent 
construction.  Their  chief  use  is  to  handle  ashes  from  the  steam 
tugboats  and  for  lightering  freight. 

The  large  fleet  of  109  covered  barges,  used  for  transporting 
freight  between  steamers  and  wharves,  has  been  developed  almost 
entirely  in  the  last  twenty  years.  The  covered  refrigerator  barges, 
of  which  the  company  now  has  17,  have  all  been  built  since  1899. 
They  are  especially  designed  for  the  transportation  of  perishable 
freight  during  warm  weather  and  have  proved  so  successful  that  the 
company  contemplates  building  ten  more  in  the  immediate  future. 

The  62  car  floats  are  used  to  transport  cars  between  rail  ter- 
minals and  pier  stations  in  New  York  harbor,  for  the  interchange  of 
cars  between  railroads  and  frequently  for  the  movement  of  cars  to 


—  239  — 


u 


E5 


^ 

^ 


1^1 


T7 


^ 

^ 


K5RF1 


W 

altera 


/-\ 


V7 


GZ 


^\ 


w 


^ 


A 


T7 


different  parts  of  the  harbor  when  shippers  or  consignees  have  a 
minimum  of  six  cars.  The  large  number  of  floats  required  to  trans- 
port cars  furnishes  some  idea  of  the  great  part  played  by  the 
Marine  Department  of  the  New  York  Central  in  handling  the 
harbor  traffic. 

Thirty  of  the  car  floats  are  of  steel  construction  and  32  of 
wood.  All  of  them  have  been  built  since  1900.  The  number  of 
floats  and  their  respective  capacity  follows:  Four,  8  cars;  four,  10 
cars,  thirty-two,  12  cars;  fourteen,  16  cars;  eight,  17  cars. 

The  fleet  of  car  floats,  operating  24  hours  a  day,  is  capable 
of  moving  back  and  forth  between  various  harbor  points  hundreds 
of  freight  cars  daily,  thus  playing  a  big  part  in  transporting  the 
large  quantities  of  supplies  required  to  keep  New  York  going. 

The  railroad's  fleet  of  grain  boats,  34  in  number,  transfers  grain 
to  the  holds  of  ocean-going  vessels  through  the  means  of  floating 
grain  elevators.  The  company's  grain  boats  have  all  been  built 
since  1899,  prior  to  which  time  all  grain  moving  over  the  New 
York  Central  and  the  West  Shore  Railroads  had  been  transferred 
to  ocean-going  vessels  by  boats  chartered  from  individual  owners. 

The  New  York  Central  has  always  been  a  sea-going  railroad. 
Its  Marine  Department  has  kept  apace  with  the  growth  of  the 
business  of  New  York  harbor  and  its  extensive  equipment  makes  it  a 
vital  factor  in  handling  the  traffic  of  the  metropolitan  area  and  the 
vast  inland  territory  served,  as  well  as  enormous  export  business. 

The  railroad's  excellent  lighterage  facilities  enable  it  to  handle 
United  States  mails  in  New  York  harbor  with  remarkable  efficiency. 
The  New  York  Central,  on  August  1,  1921,  under  contract  with  the 
Post  Office  Department,  began  to  meet  all  incoming  vessels  at  Quar- 
antine for  the  purpose  of  taking  off  mails  so  that  they  could  be 
delivered  more  expeditiously.  This  means  of  expediting  mails  com- 
ing into  New  York  harbor  was  a  part  of  Postmaster  General  Will 
H.  Hays'  program  to  speed  up  the  delivery  of  foreign  and  coastwise 
mails  and  under  this  system  mail  now  is  frequently  delivered  in  New 
York  City  or  started  on  its  way  to  interior  destinations  hours  be- 
fore the  steamships  dock  at  their  respective  piers.  Under  the  old 
arrangement  the  mail  was  not  unloaded  from  the  boats  until  after 
they  had  docked,  frequently  causing  a  delay  of  24  hours  or  more. 

The  New  York  Central  harbor  boats  are  also  used  to  transport 
mail  between  harbor  points. 

In  the  management  of  the  Marine  Department  of  the  New  York 
Central  Railroad,  Manager  Walter  B.  Pollock  is  assisted  by  Cap- 
tain Reginald  Fay,  superintendent ;  B.  F.  Ward,  supervising  engi- 


—  240  — 


W 

fr 

W 

_ 

w 

.1 

\J 

■6- 

\  / 

V7 

i  /1 

neer;  F.  L.  Pollock,  superintendent  of  West  Shore  ferries,  and  J. 
N.  Crocker,  supervisor  of  mail  traffic. 

During  the  twenty-six  months  of  Federal  control  of  the  Ameri- 
can railroads  for  the  prosecution  of  the  War,  Mr.  Walter  B.  Pol- 
lock was  Marine  Director  in  charge  of  all  marine  operations  in 
New  York  harbor,  a  period  in  which  this  was  the  centre  of  trans- 
portation operations  of  vital  importance  to  the  United  States  and 
its  European  allies.  He  has  been  president  of  the  New  York  Pro- 
duce Exchange  since  June,  1920,  whose  members  deal  in  grain, 
flour,  cotton  seed  oil  and  other  commodities,  being  the  first  railroad 
official  ever  elected  to  this  very  important  and  influential  commer- 
cial organization. 

gEORGE  W.  STERLING 

GEORGE  WARING  STERLING  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  November  22,  1874.  He  entered  the  employ  of 
Metropolitan  S.  S.  Co.  on  January  1,  1890,  and  on  January 
1,  1912,  upon  the  consolidation  of  the  Metropolitan  S.  S.  Co.,  The 
Main  S.  S.  Co.,  and  the  Eastern  S.  S.  Co.  under  the  name  of  the 
Eastern  S.  S.  Corporation,  he  was  appointed  freight  traffic  manager. 

On  February  1,  1918,  Mr.  Sterling  joined  the  Shipping  Board, 
under  Mr.  Carey,  director  of  operations,  as  manager  of  traffic  de- 
partment in  charge  of  making  all  Shipping  Board  rates.  On  Sep- 
tember 30,  1918,  he  resigned  from  the  Shipping  Board  and  re- 
turned to  the  Eastern  S.  S.  Lines,  and  was  elected  vice-president. 

On  November  1,  1919,  he  was  again  called  to  serve  the  United 
States  Shipping  Board  and  was  made  assistant  director  of  opera- 
tions, in  charge  of  all  Shipping  Board  matters  in  New  York  City, 
which  position  he  held  till  October  6,  1920,  when  he  was  appointed 
receiver  of  Victor  S.  Fox  &  Company,  Inc.,  Consolidated  Maritime 
Lines,  and  took  over  the  management  of  six  steamers  and  six  sail- 
ing vessels. 

On  November  17,  1920,  he  was  also  appointed  receiver  of  the 
Atlantic-Adriatic  S.  S.  Corp.,  taking  over  the  management  of  seven 
steamers,  and  on  December  20  of  the  same  year  he  was  appointed 
receiver  of  the  American  Star  Line,  taking  over  the  management 
of  two  steamers. 


\J 

W 

241 


HOLLAND-AMERICA  LINE 

ONE  of  the  most  popular  of  the  trans-Atlantic  lines  engaged 
in  passenger  service  between  New  York  and  the  European 
continent  is  the  Holland-America  Line,  widely  famed  for 
its  staunch  vessels  and  its  excellent  service ;  but  this  is  only  one 
feature  of  the  activities  of  that  line,  which  is  really  the  most 
important  steamship  organization  of  the  Netherlands.  The  date 
of  the  organization  of  the  line  was  on  April  18,  1872,  when,  at 
the  instigation  of  Sir  Otto  Reuchlin  and  A.  Plate,  Esq.,  a  num- 
ber of  bankers  and  manufacturers  met  and  organized  to  establish 
a  service  between  the  Netherlands  and  the  United  States  which 
should  be  an  efficient  medium  for  personal  travel  and  carrying 
of   freights, 

The  line  began  with  a  service  of  two  steamers,  the  "Rotter- 
dam" and  the  "Maas,"  small  pioneer  ships,  from  which  has 
grown  the  present  large  and  important  fleet  of  passenger  and 
freight  steamers,  tenders,  lighters,  etc.,  which  with  other  vessels 
now  building  will  amount  to  415,159  tons. 

The  present  organization  is  under  the  patronage  of  the  Prince 
Consort  of  the  Netherlands,  the  officers  being  J.  Rypperda 
Wierdsma,  President;  Adrian  Gips  and  W.  F.  Pick,  Managing 
Directors;  and  the  board  of  directors  is  composed  of  W.  Wester- 
man,  President;  E.  P.  de  Monchy  Rzn,  Vice-President;  S.  P.  Van 
Eeghen,  Mr.  Th.  A.  Fruin,  I.  J.  Havelaar,  H.  Van  Kempen, 
A.  G.  Kroller,  W.  F.  Leemans,  Jan  Lels,  Mr.  W.  A.  Mees,  Mr. 
F.  S.  Van  Nierop,  Jhr.  M.  Reuchlin,  L.  A.  E.  Suermondt,  C.  W. 
F.  P.   Baron  Sweerts  de  Landas  Wyborgh,  J.   H.   Veder. 

The  New  York  service  of  the  Company  is  a  passenger  service 
from  New  York  via  Plymouth  and  Boulogne  sur  Mer  to  Rotter- 
dam. There  are  also  passenger  services  between  Rotterdam  and 
Canada,  known  as  the  Canada  Line,  and  between  Rotterdam,  Ant- 
werp and  Spain  to  Cuba,  Mexico,  New  Orleans,  and  back  to  Rot- 
terdam via  Spain.  There  is  a  regular  freight  service  between 
Boston,  Philadelphia,  Norfolk,  Newport  News,  New  Orleans, 
Savannah  to  Rotterdam;  from  Galveston  to  Rotterdam  and  from 
New  York  to  the  Dutch  East  Indies  (Java)  and  back  to  New 
York  via  Suez,  Panama  or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  also  services 
from  Holland  to  British  India  and  to  South  America,  while  in 
the  course  of  1920  a  regular  service  has  been  started  from  Rot- 
terdam and  other  European  ports,  to  San  Francisco  and  other 
ports  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  with 
very  large  steamers  provided  with  refrigerator  space  for  the  car- 
rying   of   perishable    cargo. 

—  242  — 


5TATEN   ISLANDS   GRES£T   CHAIN 
OF  THOUSS£NT>  FOOT  PIERS 

POUCH    TERMINAL,     &¥MERIC$£N 
DOCK,    AND    MUNICIPAL    PIERS 

THAT  portion  of  Staten  Island,  known  as  the  easterly  shore, 
has  been  familiarly  known  for  many  years,  especially  in  ship- 
ping circles,  as  the  "Gateway  to  New  York,"  on  account  of  the 
location  of  a  Quarantine  Station  where  all  incoming  vessels  are  com- 
pelled to  stop  before  entering  the  Harbor,  for  inspection  by  health 
officers. 

As  early  as  1799,  the  State  of  New  York  established  a  Quarantine 
Station  at  Tompkinsville,  probably  on  account  of  the  sheltered  an- 
chorage and  depth  of  water  at  this  locality,  and  the  old  Quarantine 
Station  remained  here  until  about  1869,  when  the  development  of 
Staten  Island  required  that  it  be  transferred  to  a  new  location  further 
down  the  Bay  and  near  the  Narrows,  where  vessels  with  contagious 
diseases  aboard  could  be  detained  further  away  from  the  City. 

The  first  ferry  from  New  York,  to  Staten  Island,  owned  and 
originally  operated  by  Captain  Vanderbilt,  personally,  landed  its 
passengers  adjacent  to  the  old  Quarantine  Station  and  this  point 
was  used  as  a  ferry  landing  for  nearly  80  years  or  until  the  present 
City  of  New  York  established  its  magnificent  municipal  ferry  service 
at  St.  George,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  old  landing. 

Shortly  after  the  removal  of  Quarantine,  the  greater  portion  of 
the  old  grounds  were  sold  to  the  American  Dock  Company,  and  a 
storage  plant  established  there. 

Since  1872  this  historic  ground  has  been  used  continuously  as 
one  of  the  largest  independent  warehouse  properties  in  the  Port  of 
New  York,  and  although  it  was  originally  intended  for  the  exclusive 
storage  of  cotton,  new  fire-proof  buildings  have  been  added  in  recent 
years,  and  the  entire  plant  re-constructed  with  large  piers  to  accom- 
modate ocean-going  cargo   steamers. 

One  of  the  attractive  features  to  receivers  of  cargoes  at  this 
Terminal  is  the  railroad  connections  whereby  merchandise  can  be 
trans-shipped  direct  from  side  of  vessel  into  cars  without  extra 
handling  or  cartage,  and  it  is  the  only  Terminal  in  the  City  of  New 
York  having  direct  rail  connections,  with  trunk  lines  of  New  Jersey, 
independent  of  float  system. 

This  Terminal  now  covers  about  30  acres  and  has  33  warehouses 
containing  7.000,000  cubic  feet  of  protected  storage  area,  also  four 
large  covered  piers,  all  1,000  feet  in  length  and  from  70  to  185 
feet  in  width. 

—  243  — 


F51 


ax 
t7 


XJ 


XI 


xx 
XT 


xx 
XJ 


£ 


(^ 


lHjlU 


a\ 


^ 


,a\ 

T7 


.^ 


lw 


c^ 


V7 


UT/l 


YT 


[^1 


A 


V7 


The  American  Dock  piers  adjoining  on  the  north  the  12  new 
Municipal  Terminal  piers  which  extend  from  Tompkinsville  to  Clifton 
are  included  in  America's  great  chain  of  1,000-foot  piers,  the  finest 
and  most  modern  development  of  port  facilities  in  this  country. 

The  extent  of  this  new  development  can  be  realized  by  the  fact 
that  the  combined  wharfage  for  ocean  going  steamers  is  greater  than 
that  provided  on  Manhattan  Island  and  48  cargo  vessels  can  be 
accommodated  at  one  time.  The  distance  around  these  piers  is  six 
and  one-half  miles  and  provides  an  area  of  1,800,000  square  feet. 

The  south  end  of  this  great  chain  of  thousand  foot  piers  is  made 
up  of  the  three  modern  type  piers  of  the  Pouch  Terminal,  Inc. 
Although  the  water  frontage  of  this  terminal  is  only  1,000  ft.,  it 
covers  an  area  of  33  acres  and  has  three  covered  piers,  all  completely 
protected  by  sprinklers  inside  and  outside,  each  130  ft.  in  width  by 
900  to  1,150  ft.  in  length  with  concrete  deck,  constructed  on  most 
modern  type,  adaptable  for  ocean-going  vessels,  railroad  tracks  ex- 
tending the  full  length  of  piers  and  having  slip  room  between  piers 
of  over  300  ft. 

Linked  together  by  direct  rail  connection,  the  American  Dock, 
Municipal  and  Pouch  Terminals,  form  a  great  terminal  with  21  cov- 
ered piers  1,000  ft.  in  length  covering  a  water  frontage  of  two  miles 
and  forming  the  greatest  chain  of  port  facilities  to  be  found  in 
America. 


WILLIAM  E.  WILLIAMS 

THE  HOUSE  OF  WILLIAM  E.  WILLIAMS,  62  Front  St., 
New  York,  is   a  unique  institution  in   the  development   of  the 
Port   of  New  York.      About    12,000   square   feet   of   space    is 
occupied  and  well  filled  with  large  stock  of  all  kinds  of  ship  sup- 
plies and  equipment. 

This  house  is  the  only  one  of  its  kind  that  is  equipped  with  a 
pattern  shop,  foundry  and  machine  shop  where  special  items  can 
1  e  made  on  short  notice.  In  addition  to  making  various  items 
for  ship's  use,  a  full  line  of  high  pressure  regrinding  valves  are 
manufactured  in  various  types  to  suit  different  requirements.  This 
is  the  only  valve  factory  in  Greater  New  York.  Everything  from 
a  needle  to  an  anchor  can  be  supplied  by  this  establishment.  No 
expense  has  been  spared  in  making  62  Front  St.  headquarters  for 
the  economical  operation  of  supplying  ships.  Most  ship  owners 
have  recognized  this   fact   and  a  thriving  business   is   the  result. 


2H 


K 

--^ 

*a 

^ 

c~  ft 

^r- 

2 

—-* 

-4 

1 

oncret 
e  hant 

ft 
ft- 

to 

•% 

Si- 
ft 

g5 

e  cov 
lied  a 

«*3  • 

5 

r-*- 

~i-      ft 

a    ft 

cs 

> 

5' 

«■  2^ 

^*» 

W 

k 

t-Lk 

ft 

ft 

i'^ 

^ 

% 

s 

^5 

£ 

ft 

ft 
"4 

o 

?  ft' 

So 

3^ 

?5- 

i— i 
> 

£ 

^ 

ft 

—4.       ^ 

00 

C3 

0*4 

0 

»*«, 

ft* 

i^4 

1     1 

rr-^i 

g 

sj 

—+. 

ft     5 

C^ 

rM 

& 

pS* 

* 

ft       i 

•** 

Ob 

i 

mode 
pier. 

o 

Cfc 

^ 

> 

&5 

So 

I 
I 

const 
m  the 

crt- 

H 
X 

Ci 

&a 

ft   ^ 

S" 

> 

£5 

&0 

I 
I 

©, 

© 

iction. 
ft,  num 

© 

1— 1 

O 
^1 

^ 

§ 

ft    ^ 

~ 

„ 

& 

g 

"■*     o 

© 

o 

*3 

Os 

^»- 

05        ^j 

o 

BO. 

q' 

s- 

^ 

o 

J3 

ft 

ft 

<£>   i 

^-* 

O 
O 
H 

Co 
Oo 

© 

ft 

i      ft 

ft 

ft 

v.. 

ft" 

>•     2 

—+. 

a 

i^ 

ft 

"d 

c*> 

-»H 

g  <2 

~   ft 

o 

Co 

l-H 

3 

-0 

^ 

© 
ft 

Hi' 

w 

r+.     ft 

5". 

V3 

?■*. 

^ 

s~ 

ft       Os 

^5 

Ob 

s. 

K-3 
ft"1 

ft 

© 

a 

^; 

■*» 

© 

"-t. 

1 

3 
i  ■ 

S     ft 

ft    a 

I  V^fcBk 


OUT  OF  <NEW  YORK— TO  ALL 
"PORTS  OF  THE  WORLD 

THE    ease   with   which   we   travel   today   from   one   continent   to 
another,  has  caused  us  to  fail  to  realize  what  serious  obstacles 
were  presented  before  the  days  of  steamships  and  their  many 
luxurious   appointments  for  comfort. 

Way  back  in  the  beginning — when  the  first  man  straddled  a 
log  and  paddled  across   streams,  he  started  humanity  adventuring 

by  sea. 

The  first  great  sailors  of  record — the  Phoenicians — as  early  as 
604  B.  C.  cleared  from  a  Red  Sea  port  and  by  hugging  the  coast 
and  keeping  always  to  the  right,  rounded  the  southern  promontory 
of  Africa.  After  three  years  they  returned  to  Egypt  via  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar. 

Until  the  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  however,  the  old  world 
sailors — though  fearless  and  hardy — dared  not  go  out  of  sight  of 
land — not  knowing  what  was  "on  the  other  side." 

Ibn  Khaldun,  the  Arab,  at  that  time,  described  the  Atlantic  as 
"a  vast  and  boundless  ocean,  into  which  ships  did  not  dare  venture 
out  of  sight  of  land,  for  even  if  the  sailors  knew  the  direction  of 
the  winds,  there  was  no  inhabited  country  beyond  it  and  they  would 
run  great  risks  in  being  lost  in  the  mist  and  darkness." 

But   this  was  centuries  ago ! 

From  the  breaking  of  pathways  for  marine  commerce  through 
the  unexplored  expanse  by  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal — known  as- 
"the  Navigator"  to  the  later  advent  of  the  steamship — maritime 
intercourse  between  distant  lands  developed  remarkably. 

And  as  the  fleets  grew  and  types  of  propulsion  developed  for- 
eign trade  expanded  so  that  it  became  necessary  for  owners  to  make 
dependable  arrangements  for  their  ships'  supplies — in  the  various 
ports  of  trade. 

It  was  man's  power  to  "look  ahead,"  coupled  with  strength  of 
purpose,  that  gave  to  the  fleets  of  all  countries  a  world-wide  Gar- 
goyle lubrication  service  that  they  now  enjoy. 

The  Vacuum  Oil  Company  has  pioneered  in  the  business  of  sup- 
plying the  world's  lubrication  requirements. 

Now  ships  clear  from  their  home  waters — many  for  strange 
ports.  Their  correctly  lubricated  engines  throb  steadily  driving  the 
ship  relentlessly  through  storms  and  against  winds  and  tides.  The 
engineer  knows  that  he  can  depend  on  the  Gargoyle  Marine  Oil 
in  the  system. 

But  he  does  not  carry  a  supply  sufficient  for  the  whole  voyage. 
And  does  not  have  to  worry  about  his  oil  supplies. 

—  246  — 


\  / 


.   ., 


*yt 


w 


M$f5\ 


/  \, 


\  / 


,.'  , 


\  / 


\  / 


Fel 


w 


XX 


\  / 


XX 


U 


,,   . 


TT 


/  ., 


XT 


t7 


/  -, 


U 


/  ., 


\1 


\I 


His  owners  have  arranged  by  means  of  their  Gargoyle  Marine 
Oils  Contract  to  keep  him  supplied  with  correct  lubrication  at  any 
port  where  the  ship  might  anchor. 

He  knows  that  while  the  waters  may  be  strange — just  over  the 
horizon  is  a  land  of  plenty — for  the  ships'  engines — for  a  complete 
stock  of  Gargoyle  Marine  Oils  is  carried  at  all  ports  of  the  world. 

But  how  do  these  stocks  get  there? 

Every  barrel  of  Gargoyle  Marine  Oil  is  manufactured  at  the 
Vacuum  Oil  Co.'s  own  refineries — Rochester,  N.  Y. ;  Paulsboro,  N.  J., 
and  Bayonne,  N.  J. — so  ships  carrying  heavy  cargoes  of  our  pro- 
ducts are  continuously  clearing  New  York  harbor  for  foreign  ports. 

And  in  this — the  Pilots  of  the  Port  of  New  York — play  an 
important  part. 

Since  trade  had  its  birth,  transportation  has  been  the  medium 
through  which  it  has  grown  in  volume.  Transportation  has  found 
its  way  along  dependent  upon  certain  well  defined  trade  lines  and 
routes  upon  both  land  and  water. 

In  any  given  age  of  history,  said  a  well-known  authority  on 
transportation,  the  nation  that  has  been  long  dominant  has  been 
the  one  that  has  furnished  or  protected  the  most  affected  high- 
ways for  the  movement  of  the  commerce  of  the  times. 

The  trade  lines  and  routes  of  New  York  harbor — our  great 
highway  to  the  Atlantic — lead  to  every  port  of  the  globe. 

It  is  natural,  then,  that  the  greatest  protection  must  be  afforded 
shipping  in  North  America's  busiest  harbor. 

And  it  is  done — by  the  Sandy  Hook  Pilots. 


(ROftT.  J.  TOT> 

ROBT.  J.  TOD,  born  in  Cardiff,  Wales,  in  1886,  has  had  20  years 
shipping  experience,  commenced  business  at  an  early  age  with 
one  of  Cardiff's  largest  steamship  owners.      Then,  looking  for 
more  experience,  went  to  London  where  he  'was  connected  with  ship 
owners  and  brokers  for  five  years.     Being  a  member  of  the  Baltic 
Exchange,  this  gave  him  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business,  and 
in  1911  came  to  New  York  and  has  now  had  10  years'  good  Ameri- 
can experience.      Is  an  American  citizen,  a  member  of  the  Produce 
Exchange  and  the  Maritime  Exchange  and  head  of  the  well  known 
firm  of  ship  brokers,  Robt.   J.  Tod  Co.,  with  offices   at  25  Beaver 
Street,  New  York.      Mr.  Tod,  through  the  large  number  of  foreign 
and  American  steamers  handled  by  him,   always   giving  preference 
whenever  possible  to  New  York,  is  one  of  the  men  in  recent  years 
who  has  helped  to  make  the  port  what  it  is  today. 

—  247  — 


THE  FE<DE<RAL  COMPOSITION  AND 

PAINT  CO.,  Inc. 

THE  FEDERAL  COMPOSITION  AND  PAINT  COMPANY, 
INC.,  whose  offices  are  located  at  17  Battery  Place,  New  York 
City,  is  one  of  the  long  established  and  best  known  firms  in  its 
line.  The  Company's  business  dates  from  1901  and  its  endeavors 
embrace  not  only  the  manufacture  of  paints  and  compositions,  but 
also  the  application  of  its  product  on  a  contract  basis.  This  latter 
service  calls  for  the  maintenance  of  an  organization  ready  to  under- 
take the  cleaning  and  repainting  of  vessels  of  all  kinds  upon  short 
notice. 

The  name  Federal  and  the  Federal  trade  mark  are  familiar  to 
shipping  men  the  world  over,  and  admittedly  represent  to  them  a 
quality  and  kind  of  paint  in  which  they  can  place  full  confidence. 
The  Company  manufactures  marine  paints  and  compositions  only, 
and  has  builded  its  present  extensive  business  because  its  intimate 
association  with  and  understanding  of  the  needs  of  the  ship  opera- 
tor has  enabled  it  to  produce  a  superior  product. 

Federal  Paints  and  Compositions  are  manufactured  at  a  modern 
factory,  greatly  enlarged  in  1920,  and  equipped  throughout  with 
the  most  modern  special  paint  machinery.  The  Company  maintains 
its  own  chemical  and  research  laboratory,  and  expert  chemist  and 
experienced  managers,  who  supervise  each  step  in  the  manufactur- 
ing processes  and  prove  the  standard  quality  of  the  finished  product. 

The  Company  numbers  among  its  customers  the  most  promin- 
ent steamship  lines,  operators  and  ship  builders  who  enter  the  ports 
of  the  United  States.  The  Company's  operations  center  in  the 
Port  of  New  York,  but  it  also  maintains  a  branch  in  Philadelphia 
and  is  represented  by  agents  in  all  the  principal  ports  on  the  At- 
lantic, Gulf  and  Pacific  Coasts.  In  British  ports  the  Federal  prod^ 
uct  is  sold  by  the  British  Anti-Fouling  Paint  and  Composition  Co., 
Ltd. 

Even  with  its  far  flung  activities,  the  Company  is  no  more  widely 
known  than  is  its  President,  Mr.  Andrew  Baxter,  who  is  an  ex- 
shipmaster  and  who,  before  retiring  from  the  sea,  had  commanded 
many  fine  and  famous  sailing  vessels.  Mr.  Baxter's  numerous  voy- 
ages carried  him  into  practically  every  sea  and  gave  him  an  unusual 
insight  into  the  paint  needs  of  vessels  trading  in  any  waters.  Mr. 
Baxter  takes  an  active  and  personal  interest  in  every  detail  of  the 
Company's  business  and  the  problems  of  painting  which  are  sub- 
mitted to  it.  Mr.  Baxter  has  surrounded  himself  with  men  who, 
like  himself,  have  followed  the  sea  and  know,  from  actual  experience, 
of  the  requirements  of  protecting  every  part  of  a  vessel. 

—  248  — 


w 


FSIFSTS^ 


\  / 


RSBtMSl 


f^f^Fe^Fei 


Mr.  Baxter  is  the  representative  for  the  Eastern  Coast  and  in 
full  charge  of  the  vessels  of  Andrew  Weir  &  Company,  London,  one 
of  the  largest  British  Companies  with  world-wide  interests.  Numer- 
ous vessels  of  this  Company  enter  Atlantic  ports,  particularly  the 
port  of  New  York,  during  the  course  of  the  year,  all  of  which  re- 
ceive the  care,  attention  and  benefit  of  Mr.  Baxter's  great  shipping 
experience. 


SWEDISH-AMERICAN  LINE 


THE  Swedish  American  Line,  maintaining  a  direct  passenger 
and  freight  service  between  New  York  and  Gothenburg, 
Sweden,  was  organized  in  the  fall  of  1915.  Its  first  sailing 
from  New  York  took  place  early  in  1916,  when  S.  S.  "Stockholm" 
sailed  for  Gothenburg.  S.  S.  "Drottningholm"  has  been  in  service 
since  May,   1920. 

From  the  start  the  line  won  favor  with  the  traveling  public 
because  of  its  fast,  comfortable,  luxuriously  appointed  steamers, 
excellent  accommodations  and  superb  service,  and  this  well- 
merited  popularity  has  increased  with  the  years  through  the  com- 
pany's consistent  policy  that  no  effort  be  spared  to  please  and 
satisfy  its  patrons.  The  increasing  volume  of  travel  via  these 
steamers  is  the  best  proof  of  the  soundness  of  this  policy. 

In  connection  with  this  passenger  service  there  is  a  freight 
line  operated  under  the  same  management  and  under  the  style 
"The  Swedish  America-Mexico  Line,"  which  maintains  a  regular 
cargo  service  between  Swedish  and  Baltic  Sea  ports  and  New 
York.  This  line  operates  the  following  cargo  carriers :  S.  S. 
"Braheholm"  (oil  burner),  8,800  tons;  motor  ship  "Stureholm," 
7,800  tons;  S.  S.  "Carlsholm,"  6,100  tons,  and  S.  S.  "Gustavs- 
holm,"  4,800  tons. 

The  head  office  of  the  joint  companies  is  in  Gothenburg.  Mr. 
Dan  Brostrom,  former  Swedish  Minister  of  Marine,  is  the  manag- 
ing director.  Mr.  G.  Hilmer  Lundbeck  is  the  American  repre- 
sentative, with  offices  at  21-24  State  Street,  New  York,  where 
also  the  general  passenger  offices  are  located. 

Furness,  Withy  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  34  Whitehall  Street,  New  York, 
are  the  general  freight  agents.  Branch  offices  for  the  booking 
of  passengers  and  cargoes  are  located  in  Chicago,  Minneapolis, 
Seattle  and  San  Francisco. 


249  — 


BRIGGS  BITUMINOUS  COMPOSITION 

COMPANY,  Inc. 

THIS  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Andrew  Baxter  is  President,  and 
whose  main  offices  are  at  17  Battery  Place,  is  engaged  in  the 
sale  of  bituminous  protective  coatings  for  the  underwater 
inner  hull  and  compartments  of  steel  vessels,  and  their  applications. 
This  Company  has  pioneered  in  this  line  and  enjoys  high  repute  for 
the  quality  of  its  products  and  for  the  accompanying  service.  Many 
will  recognize  its  trade-named  products  Tenax  Composition  and 
Ferroid  Enamel  and  will  have  used  Tenax  Marine  Glue. 

The  Company  operates  its  factory  at  1327  Thirty-eighth  Street, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  maintains  a  service  organization  equipped  to 
undertake  commission  in  practically  any  Eastern  port.  Its  agents 
are  likewise  ready  to  handle  its  business  in  other  ports. 


ARKELL  &  "DOUGLAS,  Inc. 

THE  FIRM  OF  ARKELL  &  DOUGLAS,  Inc.,  was  founded 
some  75  years  ago  in  Canada  by  Mr.  James  Arkell.     About 

1816  the  firm  was  established  in  New  York  under  the  name  of 
Arkell  &  Elliott  and  immediately  engaged  extensively  in  the  lucrative 
West  Coast  mining  trade.  In  the  next  few  years  they  shipped  many 
cargoes  of  mining  supplies  to  the  gold  fields  of  Australia  and  Cali- 
fornia. The  trade  established  in  those  early  years  was  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  the  firm  has  steadily  built  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  shipping  and  commission  houses  in  New  York. 

In  1879  the  name  of  the  firm  was  changed  to  Arkell  &  Co., 
under  which  the  business  was  conducted  till  1883,  when  Mr.  Wm.  H. 
Douglas  entered  the  firm  and  the  name  was  changed  to  Arkell  & 
Douglas.  The  business  was  incorporated  in  1909  with  Wm.  H. 
Douglas  as  president.  Mr.  Douglas  has  been  the  active  head  of  the 
company  since  1886. 


%       % 


—  250 


gREAT  LAKES  DREDGE  &  DOCK  CO. 

THE  GREAT  LAKES  DREDGE  AND  DOCK  COMPANY, 
which  specializes  in  dredging  and  marine  construction  is  an 
outgrowth  of  the  old  concern  of  Lydon  &  Drew,  of  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  was  incorporated  in  1905,  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey  and  have  acquired  since  that  time  the  plants  and 
organizations  of  various  dredging  concerns  on  the  Great  Lakes. 

In  1911,  this  concern  was  attracted  to  the  Atlantic  Coast  by 
the  large  amount  of  submarine  rock  excavation  being;  carried  on  bv 
the  United  States  Government,  and,  securing  a  large  contract  for 
this  class  of  work,  started  an  office  in  Boston,  Mass.  In  1913, 
contract  for  dredging  and  rock  excavation  was  secured  from  the 
United  States  Government  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  an  office  opened 
at  that  point.  In  1916,  contract  for  the  removal  of  Coenties  Reef, 
East  River,  New  York,  was  secured  and  an  office  opened  in  New 
York  City,  and  the  company's  main  activities  in  this  territory  date 
from  that  time. 

The  Company  has,  in  the  last  twelve  years,  taken  on  contracts 
running  into  millions  of  dollars  for  the  United  States  Government  at 
New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Albany,  the  main  contracts  of  which 
were  the  dredging  for  the  Quartermaster  Terminal  at  South  Brook- 
lyn ;  removal  of  Mameluke  Ledge,  Delaware  River,  at  Philadelphia ; 
dredging  and  filling  at  Quartermaster  Terminal,  Greenwich  Point, 
Philadelphia,  and  dredging  and  filling  for  the  Emergency  Fleet  Cor- 
poration at  Bristol,  Pa. 

This  Company  also  numbers  among  its  clients  some  of  the  larg- 
est ship-building  and  dry-dock  concerns  in  New  York  Harbor,  as 
well  as  having  taken  care  of  the  wants  of  some  of  the  smaller  ship- 
yards in  and  around  New  York. 

This  company's  plant  is  so  extensive  that  it  is  able  to  handle 
contracts,  both  large  and  small,  with  the  greatest  despatch.  Be- 
sides two  hydraulic  dredges,  two  dipper  dredges,  two  submarine 
rock  drills,  ocean-going  tugs  and  scows  in  New  York  Harbor,  this 
company  owns  and  operates  at  its  various  points  23  dipper  dredges, 
6  hydraulic  dredges,  8  drill  boats,  32  tugs,  13  floating  pile  drivers, 
23  shore  pile  drivers,  30  floating  derricks,  6  shore  derricks,  81  dump 
scows,  100  deck  scows,  together  with  the  various  smaller  pieces  of 
plant  required  in  conjunction  with  marine  work  of  every  descrip- 
tion. 

The  Company's  offices  are  located  at  New  York,  Albany,  Buffalo, 
Cleveland,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Duluth,  and  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

The  New  York  representatives  of  this  concern  are  Thomas  H. 
Mackie,  vice-president;  J.  R.  Williams,  manager;  and  P.  W.  Dick- 
inson, superintendent. 

—  251  — 


THE  NEW  YORK  AND  PO<RTO  <RICO 
STEAMSHIP  COMPANY 

THE  NEW  YORK  &  PORTO  RICO  STEAMSHIP  COM- 
PANY, known  as  the  Porto  Rico  Line,  was  incorporated  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  October,  1890,  and  has 
been  operating  uninterruptedly  between  the  United  States  and 
Porto  Rico  ever  since.  It  commenced  operations  with  several  small 
chartered  steamers  but  shortly  acquired  several  vessels  of  its  own, 
and  its  fleet  has  gradually  been  increased  until  it  is  now  operating 
fifteen  American  steamers,  of  which  the  "San  Lorenzo,"  "Porto 
Rico,"  "Coamo,"  "San  Juan"  and  "Ponce"  are  well  known  to  the 
traveling  and  commercial  public.  The  running  time  between  New 
York  and  San  Juan  has  been  reduced  from  nine  to  four  and  a  half 
days,  and  the  Company  has  been  instrumental  in  giving  the  Island 
of  Porto  Rico  a  frequent  and  regular  steamship  service  equal  to  that 
enjoyed  by  any  of  the  West  Indies. 

A  weekly  freight  service  between  New  Orleans  and  Porto  Rico 
lias  been  maintained  by  the  Company  since  1899. 

The  head  office  of  the  Company  is  located  at  25  Broadway,  New 
York  City. 


/.  F.  WHITNEY  &  CO. 

WHITNEY'S  is  perhaps  one  of,  if  not  the  oldest,  firm  of  ship 
brokers  in  New  York.     The  firm  was  founded  prior  to  1800  by 
Nathaniel  Ruggles  Whitney  and  his  three  sons,  Jonathan  S., 
James  F.,  and  Edward  Whitney. 

Nathaniel  was  the  active  head  of  the  business  till  about  1826, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  James  F.,  who  was  active  in  the  firm  for 
sixty  years.  The  other  brothers,  Jonathan  and  Edward,  departed 
this  life  in  the  sixties.  The  Whitneys  were  born  in  Watertown, 
Mass.,  and  a  full  record  of  the  family  is  in  evidence  in  the  old  South 
Meeting  House  in  Boston. 

One  of  the  peculiar  conditions  regarding  Whitney's  is  that  all 
the  present  members  of  the  firm  have  been  juniors  in  the  office,  each 
having  served  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  years,  and  that  since  1891 
no  person  named  Whitney  has  been  partner.  The  senior  member. 
Mr.  George  T.  Hay,  joined  the  office  force  in  1872,  and  should  he 
live  till  July  22,  1922,  will  have  rounded  out  a  half  century  of  service 
with  Whitney's.  The  other  members  of  the  firm  are  Theodore 
Dougherty,  Philip  Standerman  and  John  G.  Edgett.  The  office  of 
the  firm  is  at  10  Bridge  Street,  New  York  City. 

—  252  — ■ 


A, 

3 

JJJ* 

^ 

«> 

c*1 

05 

~i 

"T 

^-i 

?■■»■ 

r^ 

» 

8g 

-^. 

**■■ 

a 

*■*» 

^ 

Si- 

— +. 

r^ 

55 

•^»«, 

r^ 

"6 

c~ 

(^ 

6 

■^ 

*e 

?> 

^^ 

a 

CD 

•s 

?■*. 

■** 

C5 

53 

~ 

Si 

e 

sx, 

^C 

' 

C5 

Q" 

£■} 

^ 

sx, 

*a 

£" 

-a 

^ 

-v 

P3 

?A  • 

a- 

2- 

3 

Cc 

c^ 

L 

s-f. 

a 

^ 

^ 

*3 

>-J 

g3 

g 

!> 

^c 

,<r"+* 

cs 

C6 

•^ 

i^ 

a 

a 

^3 

a 

Ot 
Os 

i-g 

^ 

© 

-i 

Kj. 

— 

".3 

«-* 

•** 

Q 

ra 

Ht 

Bg 

"■j 

r^ 

^_ 

S4- 

05 

^"* 

^ 

V 

06 

r'-' 

jj 

t£, 

Q 

a 

ft 

H 

^^ 

£: 

■* 

"" 

H 

a 

3 

a- 

w 

r-** 

("J 

o 

S^ 

| 

-i 

t-H 

**$ 

g5 

I— I 

a 

a 

a 

00 

a 

2 

2 

is 

3" 

cc 

OS 

5 

'V  * 

jj 

~s 

a 

CQ 

^ 

s. 

a" 

<2 

^ 

^ 

C^ 

Cc 

£p" 

M 

THE  "ROYAL  MAIL  STEAM  PACKET 

COMPANY 

THE  ROYAL  MAIL  STEAM  PACKET  COMPANY,  which 
entered  the  trans-Atlantic  service  this  year,  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  oldest  British  steamship  organization,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  largest.  Since  its  foundation  by  royal  charter  from 
Queen  Victoria,  in  1839,  the  company  has  witnessed  every  stage  of 
steamship  development,  from  paddle-wheels  and  screws,  down  to  the 
present  oil-burning  turbine  liners. 

The  company  started  with  a  small  fleet  of  iron  paddle-wheel 
steamers  carrying  sails,  and  ranging  from  650  to  2,000  tons,  sev- 
eral of  which  were  armed  with  rows  of  guns  like  old-fashioned  fri- 
gates. They  were,  in  fact,  the  pioneers  of  the  present  British  naval 
reserve,  and  as  they  carried  the  mails  it  was  considered  desirable  for 
them  to  be  in  condition  to  defend  themselves  in  event  of  war.  At 
first  the  R.  M.  S.  P.  service  was  confined  to  the  West  Indies,  but 
later  it  was  extended  to  Vera  Cruz  and  Central  American  ports.  In 
18-19  the  company  organized  a  mule  and  canoe  service  across  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  opening  a  route,  via  Colon,  to  San  Francisco 
and  ports  in  South  America.  Large  numbers  of  California  gold 
seekers  traveled  by  this  route,  which  is  often  mentioned  in  stories  of 
the  period. 

From  the  first  years  of  its  establishment  the  R.  M.  S.  P.  made 
constant  progress,  extending  its  services  and  keeping  pace  with 
every  development  in  steamship  construction.  It  also  increased  its 
connections.  Today  with  its  associated  companies,  it  controls  over 
1,900,000  tons  of  shipping.  Its  affiliated  organizations  include  the 
Pacific  Line,  Lamport  &  Holt,  Union  Castle,  Elder-Dempster  and 
Shire  Lines,  with  services  touching  ports  in  the  United  States,  West 
Indies,  Central  and  South  America,  South  Africa,  China  and  Japan. 

The  entrance  of  the  R.  M.  S.  P.  into  the  trans-Atlantic  passen- 
ger service  in  May,  1921,  marked  a  new  epoch  in  the  company's 
policy  and  formed  another  important  link  in  its  chain  of  operations. 
The  new  service  was  inaugurated  with  three  15,000  ton  steamers, 
the  Orbita,  Orduna  and  Oropesa,  on  which  the  company's  high 
standard  of  luxury  is  maintained  in  the  matter  of  cuisine  and  the 
appointments  of  public  and  state  rooms.  These  vessels  will  run 
fortnightly  between  New  York,  Cherbourg  and  Hamburg  until  the 
beginning  of  1922,  when  it  is  probable  that  other  vessels  will  be 
added  and  a  Aveekly  service  established. 

The  head  office  of  the  Royal  Mail  Steam  Packet  Company  is  in 
Moorgate  Street,  London.  The  court  of  directors  includes  the  fol- 
lowing: Sir  Owen  Phillips,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  M.  P.,  chairman;  Sir  Joseph 
Savory,  Bart.,  deputy  chairman ;  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  James  Cam- 

—  254  — 


\  1 

W 

Lw- 

w 

\  / 

w 

u 

w 

w 

\  1 

VJ 

1 

.1 

1 

r\ 

. 

. 

^ 

VV 

w 

\  1 

^0*XT 

eron  Head,  A.  Nevile  Lubbock,  Edward  Norton  and  H.  E.  Wright. 
The  Genera]  Manager  is  J.  W.  Clark. 

Royal  Mail  interests  in  New  York  are  in  charge  of  the  firm  of 
Sanderson  &  Son,  2(5  Broadway,  one  of  the  oldest  shipping  concerns 
in  the  city,  having  been  established  in  1878  by  the  late  Richardson 
Sanderson,  assisted  by  his  three  sons.  Of  these  Lloyd  B.  Sanderson 
remains  at  the  head  of  the  New  York  office  and  is  the  Royal  Mail's 
local  director,  LTarold  Sanderson  is  chairman  of  the  White  Star 
Line  and  Oswald  Sanderson  is  managing  director  of  the  Ellerman- 
Wilson  Line  of  Hull. 


LO<RT>  <D<RY  "DOCK  CO(RPO(R§^TION 


THE  LORD  DRY  DOCK  CORPORATION,  situated  at  West 
New  York,  New  Jersey,  opposite  80th  Street  and  Riverside 
Drive,  New  York  City,  opened  early  this  year  its  new  plant, 
which  is  now  in  full  operation. 

This  Corporation  was  founded  some  years  ago  and,  in  addition 
to  the  above  plant,  operates  a  large  plant  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  with 
complete  shops  for  ship  repair  work  and  a  3,500-ton  Marine  Rail- 
way. 

The  West  New  York  Plant  is  complete  in  every  manner  for  the 
expeditious  and  economical  repairing  of  all  kinds  of  vessels.  The 
.property  consists  of  41  acres  of  land  with  a  water  frontage  of  2,000 
feet  and  800  feet  of  bulkhead ;  two  piers  of  800  ft.  and  540  ft.,  the 
former  with  26  ft.  and  the  latter  with  22  ft.  depth  of  water  at 
mean  low  tide.  On  the  800  ft.  pier  there  is  a  stiff  leg  derrick  of 
100  tons  lifting  capacity  at  100  ft.  radius,  flat  loom. 

In  addition  to  its  piers  there  are  six  dry  docks  of  from  1,000 
tons  to  10,000  tons  capacity.  All  the  piers,  shops  and  dry  docks 
are  connected  by  rail  to  a  direct  siding  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad. 
This  railroad  runs  through  the  yard. 

There  are  also  fully  equipped  machine,  carpenters',  pipe,  plate 
and  blacksmith  shops,  also  floating  machine  and  welding  shops  and 
traveling  cranes  of  15  and  30  ton  capacity. 

The  Company's  launch  runs  from  Duffy's  Landing,  foot  of 
80th  Street,  North  River,  New  York  City,  to  the  West  New  York 
Plant  at  regular  intervals. 

—  255  — 


COLUM<BIS£  T<RUST  COMPANY 

THE  early  history  of  the  port  and  city  which  was  to  become  the 
commercial  and  financial  center  of  the  western  hemisphere  and, 
for  a  time  at  least,  of  the  whole  world,  provides  an  interesting 
background  for  the  study  of  its  remarkable  economic  rise  and  present 
predominance.  Three  hundred  and  ninety-seven  years  ago — some 
time  in  April,  1524 — New  York  was  discovered  by  Giovanni  da 
Yerrazzano,  a  Florentine,  who  with  a  crew  of  fifty  men  in  a  hundred- 
ton  caraval  called  "Dauphine,"  was  then  engaged  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  find  a  passage  to  India.  In  his  subsequent  account  to 
Francis  I.,  King  of  France,  at  whose  behest  the  voyage  was  made, 
there  appears  the  first  known  description  of  New  York  harbor : 

"At  the  end  of  a  hundred  leagues  we  found  a  very  agreeable 
situation  located  within  two  prominent  hills  (the  Narrows)  in  the 
midst  of  which  flowed  to  the  sea  a  very  great  river  which  was  deep 
within  the  mouth ;  and  from  the  sea  to  the  hills  of  that  place  with 
the  rising  of  the  tides,  which  we  found  eight  feet,  any  laden  ship 
might  have  passed.  On  account  of  being  anchored  off  the  coast  in 
.good  shelter,  we  did  not  wish  to  adventure  in  without  knowledge  of 
the  entrances.  We  were  with  the  small  boat,  entering  the  said 
river  to  the  land,  which  we  found  much  populated.  The  people, 
almost  like  the  others,  clothed  with  the  feathers  of  birds  of  various 
colors,  came  toward  us  joyfully,  uttering  great  exclamations  of 
admiration,  showing  us  where  we  could  land  with  the  boat  more 
safely.  We  entered  said  river,  within  the  land,  about  half  a  league 
where  we  saw  it  made  a  very  beautiful  lake  (Upper  Bay)  with  a 
circuit  of  about  three  leagues,  through  which  they  (the  Indians) 
went  going  from  one  and  another  part  to  the  number  of  XXX 
of  their  little  barges,  with  innumerable  people,  who  passed  from 
-one  shore  to  the  other  to  see  us.  In  an  instant,  as  is  wont  to  happen 
in  navigation  a  gale  of  unfavorable  wind  blowing  in  from  the  sea, 
we  were  forced  to  return  to  the  ship  leaving  the  said  land  with 
much  regret  because  of  its  commodiousness  and  beauty,  thinking  it 
was  not  without  some  properties  of  value,  all  of  its  hills  showing 
indications  of  minerals." 

But,  despite  the  commercial  possibilities  indicated,  France  did 
not  take  advantage  of  Verrazzano's  discovery,  nor,  in  turn,  did 
Portugal  avail  herself  of  Estavan  Gomez's  expedition  which  brought 
him  to  the  same  place  in  1525;  thus  New  York  history  does  not 
properly  begin  until  1607  when  Hendrik  Hudson,  using  one  of 
'Gomez's  maps,  rediscovered  this  section  of  the  country  for  the 
Dutch. 

—  256  — 


w 

y^.  .r\. 

VJ 

\J 

i 

% 

U 

y  -  j  ■•> 

y 
W 

y  . 

u 

Commercial  activity  developed  almost  immediately.  The  Dutch 
sent  several  expeditions  of  colonists  who  engaged  in  fur  trading, 
buying  from  the  Indians  and  sending  their  purchases  to  Holland. 
These  first  attempts  in  foreign  exports  proved  very  profitable,  so 
that  expansion  was  rapid.  By  161-4  a  regular  system  of  exchange 
had  been  created;  ?J60  beads  were  declared  equal  to  1  fathom,  and  6 
wampum  equal  to  1  penny  of  English  currency.  Here  were  laid 
the  foundations  for  our  great  commodity  markets  and  our  organ- 
ized domestic  and  foreign  banking  system  of  today. 

Thus  since  its  origin,  New  York  has  always  been  primarily 
interested  in  commerce  and  finance,  and  its  history  ever  since  has 
been  one  of  continuous  and  exceptional  growth.  Its  remarkable 
development  is  pre-eminently  attributable  to  foreign  trade,  and 
without  question  this  foreign  trade  has  been  attracted  in  the  first 
instance  by  New  York's  incomparable  harbor. 

The  increasing  volume  of  our  foreign  business  has  depended 
largely  upon  a  corresponding  widening  of  our  banking  facilities  so 
that  as  time  went  on,  the  role  played  by  finance  in  the  development 
of  our  metropolis  has  become  more  and  more  important.  The 
bankers  of  our  city  have  gradually  extended  their  functions  and 
strengthened  their  influence  until  today  New  York  is  the  dominating 
financial  center  of  the  world. 

The  Columbia  Trust  Company  has  participated  in  this  devel- 
opment ;  the  history  of  its  foreign  department  has  been  one  of 
consistent  and  truly  remarkable  progress.  Having  begun  opera- 
tions with  a  nucleus  of  a  manager  and  one  assistant,  it  now  occupies 
the  entire  third  floor  of  the  bank's  building  at  60  Broadway.  The 
Columbia  Trust  Company  has  thus  become  a  prominent  member  of 
the  group  of  financial  institutions  interested  in  foreign  trade,  and 
commensurate  with  its  growth,  it  has  assumed  the  greater  responsi- 
bilities which  the  present  age  is  imposing  upon  the  banking  com- 
munity. 

As  to  the  future,  due  to  the  increasing  complexity  of  industrial 
organization  and  the  greater  magnitude  of  enterprise,  bankers  will 
be  called  upon  to  contribute  even  more  largely  to  the  development 
of  our  metropolis.  New  York  has  grown  to  tremendous  proportions^ 
yet  its  progress  has  by  no  means  ceased.  An  intensive  exploitation 
of  its  railroad  facilities  and  its  780  miles  of  waterfront  promise  a 
rich  reward.  It  is  indeed  impossible  to  predict  the  limit  of  New 
York's  expansive  possibilities. 

T7 


—  257 


EARLY  SHIPPING  DAYS  OF  THE 
BANK  OF  THE  9vlS£NHS£TTS£N  CO. 

THE  history  of  the  Bank  of  the  Manhattan  Company  has  been 
closely   identified   with   the   maritime    traditions    of    New   York 

City.  Founded  in  1799,  the  group  of  men  gathered  for  the 
enterprise  included  to  a  rare  degree  the  outstanding  leaders  in  the 
political  and  commercial  life  of  the  time.  It  is  not  surprising,  when 
one  considers  the  important  place  which  shipping  and  trading  had 
always  held  in  the  business  activities  of  the  little  community,  that 
much  of  the  Bank's  strength  was  drawn  from  its  close  relationship 
with  the  shipping  industry  and  the  men  who  were  actually  engaged 
in  it. 

At  the  time  that  the  Bank  was  founded  New  York  had  to  its 
credit  135  years  as  a  trading  city.  Many  of  the  founders  and  first 
directors  were  men  whose  fathers  and  grandfathers  before  them,  even 
back  to  the  time  of  the  Dutch,  had  made  ships  their  business  in  life. 

The  famous  Marine  Society,  established  in  1769,  included 
among  its  most  enthusiastic  founders  and  first  officers  men  who  later 
were  to  help  establish  the  Bank. 

The  names  of  Leonard  Lispenard,  the  first  President,  Robert 
and  Philip  Livingston,  George  Codwisc,  James  Creighton,  Paschal 
Smith,  Henry  Tredwell  and  innumerable  others  appear  in  the  roster 
of  the  Society,  and  also  figured  in  the  early  history  of  the  Bank. 

One  cannot,  perhaps,  overestimate  the  influence  of  the  Marine 
Society  on  the  development  of  New  York's  shipping.  Founded  in 
the  period  of  depression  in  commercial  circles,  following  the  non- 
importation agreement  in  1765,  it  set  out  originally  to  relieve  dis- 
tressed shipmasters  or  their  widows  and  children  who  were  facing 
hardship,  and  also  constructively  to  promote  maritime  knowledge 
and  the  community's  shipping  interests.  The  Society  was  long 
active,  and  its  members  played  no  small  part  in  the  later  develop- 
ment of  the  shipping  industry. 

Many  other  famous  shipowners  and  traders  were  active  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Bank,  and  not  a  few  appear  in  the  Directorate. 

Captain  Richard  Randall,  whose  legacy,  which  made  possible 
the  famous  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  included  fifty  shares  of  the  Bank 
stock;  Gilbert  and  John  Aspinwall,  who  traded  to  St.  Petersburg; 
Henry  A.  and  John  G.  Coster,  trading  with  Holland  and  the  Indies 
(John  G.  Coster  was  elected  President  of  the  Bank  in  1826- ;  Pre- 
served Fish,  founder  of  the  first  packet  line  to  Liverpool ;  Archibald 
Gracie,  John  W.  Low,  and  G.  G.  Howland — are  all  names  famous 
alike  in  shipping  history  and  the  history  of  the  Bank. 

—  258  — 


V 

_ 

\J 

.1 

\r 

..  . 
w 

w 

1     J 

_ 

■'  -J 

^ 

/    J 

w 

'    J 

u 

L/  -J-     -, 

Among  the  founders  of  the  pioneer  Black  Ball  Line,  established 
in  1816,  were  Francis  Thompson  and  Isaac  Wright,  original  stock- 
holders in  the  Merchants  Hank  (now  merged  with  the  Hank  of  the 
Manhattan  Company). 

Aside  from  the  individuals  connected  with  the  Bank  who  figured 
in  the  development  of  American  shipping  and  commerce,  the  institu- 
tion itself  used  generously  and  wisely  its  financial  resources  to  foster 
the  growth  of  the  industry.  Its  close  contacts  with  shipping  inter- 
ests, its  rare  background  of  knowledge  and  experience,  gave  it  a 
commanding  position  for  financial  service  and  advice  among  ship 
owners  and  traders — a  position  which  it  has  maintained  to  this  day. 


THE  UNION  TRANSPORT  CO.,  Inc. 


THE  UNION  TRANSPORT  COMPANY,  Inc.,  now  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  handling  of  ships  in  the  Port  of  New 
York  came  into  prominence  during  the  War  period.  The 
war-time  congestion  of  the  harbor  of  New  York  made  the  work  of 
handling  ships  a  task  of  many  problems. 

This  company,  in  spite  of  these  perplexities,  made  a  record  at 
that  time  for  the  efficient  manner  in  which  it  dispatched  ships  and 
the  quick  turn-around  of  vessels  which  it  proved  able  to  accom- 
plish in  spite  of  the  unprecedented  congestion  of  the  port. 

This  congestion  with  which  the  company  was  successfully 
battling  attracted  the  attention  of  its  President,  Mr.  Hugo 
Behrend,  to  the  study  of  the  port,  its  drawbacks  and  its  needs 
and  the  relief  measures  necessary  to  enable  the  Port  of  New  York 
to  meet  the  enlarged  demands  for  increased  facilities  for  the 
efficient  and  prompt  handling  of  vessels  and  freights.  His  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  this  Port  and  his  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
its  problems  is  well  known. 

The  Union  Transport  Company,  Inc.,  has  added  to  its  facili- 
ties two  of  the  largest  double  deck  docks  in  the  new  terminal  now 
nearing  completion  at  Stapleton,  S.  I.  These  docks,  with  every 
approved  modern  improvement  for  quick  and  efficient  handling  of 
in  and  out  cargoes,  excelling  any  heretofore  available  in  this  port, 
will  soon  be  ready  for  service  of  the  local  steamship  export  and 
import  trade,  and  bring  relief,  to  all  concerned  from  the  delays, 
and  high  costs  of  present  methods. 

—  259  — 


THE  NORWEGIAN-AME'RICA 

LINE 

THE  idea  of  a  National  Norwegian  America  Line  was  con- 
ceived in  the  early  years  of  the  present  century  by  Mr.  E.  A. 
Svanoe,  chief  engineer,  Mr.  Stephen  Stephenson,  captain  of 
the  port  of  Kristiana,  and  Mr.  Johs  Bull,  engineer,  of  Glasgow. 

It  was  intended  to  place  the  plan  before  the  general  public  in 
1905,  but  the  critical  development  of  relations  between  Norway  and 
Sweden  rendered  that  impossible  and  it  was  not  until  the  Union 
had  been  dissolved  and  Norway  had  become  an  independent  country 
that  the  actual  work  of  organization  was  undertaken.  By  the  spring 
of  1911  the  organization  had  been  perfected  and  Mr.  Gustav  Hen- 
riksen  was  appointed  the  first  managing  director  of  the  company. 
The  first  two  ships  were  named  the  Kristianiafjord  and  Bergens- 
fjord.  They  were  each  of  11,000  tons  and  both  cost  eight  million 
kroner  and  were  placed  in  commission  in  the  fall  of  1913. 

From  the  very  first  the  venture  proved  remarkably  successful 
and  in  1914  another  ship,  the  Stavangerfjord  of  12,500  tons,  was 
ordered  built  to  meet  the  demands  of  commerce.  She  was  launched 
in  the  spring  of  1917.  Only  one  misfortune  has  marred  the  success- 
ful career  of  the  company ;  that  was  the  stranding  of  the  Kristiana- 
fjord  off  Cape  Race  in  a  thick  fog  on  July  15,  1917.  All  attempts 
to  set  her  afloat  failed  and  she  became  a  complete  loss. 

The  fleet  of  the  line  today  consists  of  two  passenger  ships  of 
respectively  16,000  and  18,000  tons;  six  tramp  ships  with  a  gross 
tonnage  of  32000;  150  tons  of  tugboats;  9  wooden  barges;  and  4 
steel  barges.  The  line  has  under  construction  six  tramp  ships  with 
a  gross  tonnage  of  47,000 ;  two  oil  burning  ships  of  6,500  tons  each ; 
and  twenty  steel  barges. 

The  remarkable  development  of  the  Line  under  the  most  diffi- 
cult circumstances  is  a  good  proof  that  from  the  very  beginning  it 
has  been  a  greatly  needed  connecting  link  between  Norway  and  the 
United  States.  Further  enlarging  its  field  of  operations  the  com- 
pany recently  started  a  new  route  to  Canada  in  cooperation  with  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  The  Canadian  terminals  are  Montreal 
in  the  summer  and  St.  Johns  in  the  winter. 

Under  its  wise  management  the  Line  will  undoubtedly  maintain 
its  prestige  as  the  best  connecting  link  between  Norway  and 
America.  The  chief  office  of  the  company  is  in  Kristiana,  Norway, 
with  American  headquarters  located  at  8  Bridge  street,  New  York 
City,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  A.  F.  Jones. 


—  260  — 


S.  S.  STAVANGERFJORD 
Of  the  Norwegian-American  Line 


-PACIFIC  STEAM  NAVIGATION  CO. 

FEW  steamship  lines  have  had  a  more  remarkable  beginning 
than  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company,  the  pioneer  line 
in  the  South  American  west  coast  trade.  Established  in  1839, 
and  starting  with  a  small  fleet  of  paddle-wheel  and  sail  steamers  this 
company  has  witnessed  every  stage  of  subsequent  steamship  devel- 
opment, and  today,  with  its  affiliated  company,  the  Royal  Mail,  it 
has  services  and  connections  extending  to  every  part  of  the  South 
American  coast,  to  New  York,  Southampton  and  Liverpool. 

Strangely  enough,  this  typically  English  shipping  organization 
owed  its  origin  to  the  forcefulness  and  vision  of  an  American,  Cap- 
tain William  Wheelwright,  its  promoter,  having  been  a  native  of 
Newburvport,  Mass.  After  being  employed  for  some  years  as  master 
of  a  sailing  ship  in  the  South  American  trade,  Captain  Wheelwright 
settled  in  Argentina  in  1820,  and  afterwards  lived  in  Chile  and  Peru, 
where  he  established  a  line  of  sailing  vessels  between  Valparaiso, 
Callao  and  Panama.  Subsequently  he  was  appointed  United  States 
consul  at  Guyaquil. 

In  1836  Captain  Wheelwright  obtained  concessions  for  steamship 
navigation,  with  port  privileges,  from  Chile,  Peru  and  other  west 
coast  republics  and  went  to  Washington  with  the  idea  of  enlisting 
the  support  of  the  United  States  government.  His  scheme,  how- 
ever, was  regarded  as  visionary  and  received  no  encouragement  from 
department  officials  or  members  of  Congress.  Having  been  rejected 
in  his  own  country,  he  went  to  London,  Avhere  he  gained  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Hon.  Peter  Scarlett,  whom  he  had  known  in  South 
America.  Mr.  Scarlett  succeeded  in  interesting  his  brother,  Lord 
Abinger,  and  other  influential  men,  and  plans  were  made  for  organ- 
izing a  company.  In  addition  to  establishing  a  service  along  the 
Pacific  coast  of  South  America,  ultimately  designed  to  extend  from 
Valparaiso  to  Panama,  a  system  of  communication  across  the  isth- 
mus was  considered. 

In  1839  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company  was  incorpor- 
ated under  a  royal  charter  with  a  capital  of  £250,000.  The  first 
steamer,  the  Peru,  made  the  initial  voyage  from  Liverpool  to  Val- 
paraiso in  September,  1840.  Captain  Wheelwright  returned  to 
South  America  on  this  vessel,  having  been  appointed  superintendent 
for  the  company  at  Pacific  ports.  Several  steamers  were  added  to 
the  fleet  in  following  years  and  in  1845  the  company  extended  its 
services  from  Valparaiso  to  Panama.  Four  years  later  the  Royal 
Mail  Steam  Packet  Co.  established  a  canoe  and  mule  service  across 
the  isthmus,  with  which  the  trans-Atlantic  vessels  of  that  company 
co-operated,  while  the  P.  S.  N.  Co.  formed  the  link  on  the  western 
coast.  In  later  years  this  was  replaced  by  the  isthmian  railroad. 
Today  the  company's  steamers  operate  through  the  Panama  Canal. 

—  262  — 


^\ 


Captain  Wheelwright,  it  may  be  added,  retired  from  the  com- 
pany in  1851  after  seeing  the  enterprise  firmly  established  as  a 
brilliant  commercial  success.  He  engaged  in  railroad  construction 
in  Argentina  for  over  fifteen  years,  but  his  health  having  failed,  he 
subsequently  went  to  England,  where  he  died  in  1873. 

From  the  early  years  of  the  last  century  to  the  present  day  the 
Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Co.  has  kept  pace  with  the  remarkable 
developments  that  have  occurred  in  all  parts  of  South  America.  It 
has,  moreover,  kept  in  line  with  every  stage  of  steamship  improve- 
ment and  has  been  able  to  maintain  its  lead  in  the  South  American 
trade,  not  only  in  the  passenger  service  but  also  in  cargo  carrying. 

At  the  present  time  the  company  has  a  regular  service  of  "0" 
steamers  from  Liverpool,  via  Spanish  and  Portuguese  ports,  to 
Brazil  and  the  River  Plate,  the  Falkland  Islands,  Punta  Arenas  and 
the  principal  ports  in  Chile  and  Peru,  returning  to  Liverpool 
through  the  Panama  Canal.  There  is  also  a  service  from  Liverpool 
to  Spanish  ports  and  Havana,  and  via  the  Panama  Canal  to  ports 
in  Peru  and  Chile,  returning  by  the  same  route.  The  company  has 
two  services  out  of  New  York  to  the  west  coast  of  South  America  via 
the  Panama  Canal.  The  "E"  steamers  run  to  Havana  and  the 
principal  ports  in  Peru  and  Chile,  the  "Q"  boats  to  ports  in  Col- 
umbia and  Ecuador. 

Since  its  establishment,  the  head  offices  of  the  Pacific  Steam 
Navigation  Company  have  been  in  London.  It  has  been  repre- 
sented in  New  York  for  about  twenty  years  by  Sanderson  &  Son, 
2f>  Broadway. 


HARRIS,  MAQILL  &  CO.,  Inc. 

HARRIS,    MAGILL    &    CO.,    INC.,    was    incorporated    in    the 
State  of  New  York  in  1916.     Since  its  incorporation  the  com- 
pany   has   been    actively    engaged    in    the    steamship    business, 
with  main  offices  at  35  South  William  Street,  New  York  City. 

The  concern  maintains  offices  at  New  York,  Norfolk,  Philadel- 
phia and  Savannah.  From  Norfolk  and  Philadelphia,  in  addition  to 
acting  as  agents  for  some  of  the  world's  largest  private  owners  of 
tonnage,  the  company  operates  a  service  to  Avonmouth,  Bristol  and 
Manchester  for  the  IT.  S.  Shipping  Board. 


263 


BOW<RINg  &  C09VfPA<NY 

THE    name    of   Bowring's   has   been    associated   with   important 
maritime  interests  for  more  than  a  century  and  now  through 
the  firm  of    Bowring  &  Company,  is  prominent  in  New  York, 
being  largely   engaged   as   shipbrokers,  steamship   agents   and   gen- 
eral exporters  and  importers. 

The  original  Bowring  enterprise  was  that  of  Bowring  Brothers 
which  was  started  in  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  by  Benjamin  Bow- 
ring; in  1811.  The  New  York  house  was  established  in  1866  as 
Bowring  &  Archibald  by  William  B.  Bowring  (afterwards  Sir  Wil- 
liam B.  Bowring,  Bart.)  and  Brenton  Archibald,  son  of  Sir  Edward 
Archibald  who  was,  at  that  time,  British  Consul  General  at  New 
York. 

The  firm  was  established  to  do  business  with  the  Newfoundland 
house  and  for  a  considerable  time  confined  its  attention  exclusively 
to  the  exporting  and  importing  of  Newfoundland  products.  Later, 
however,  the  firm  went  into  the  petroleum  business,  in  wThich  Bowring 
&  Archibald  were  pioneers  and  they  were  one  of  the  first  shippers 
of  a  full  cargo  of  barreled  oil  to  England  and  among  the  earliest 
developers  of  tank  steamers  especially  built  for  petroleum  shipments. 

The  English  firm  of  C.  T.  Bowring  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  was  founded  in 
Liverpool  in  1830  and  were  originally  very  large  owners  of  sailing 
vessels,  afterward  developing  into  steam  tonnage,  and  because  of 
their  connection  with  the  petroleum  trade,  were  among  the  first 
owners  of  tank  tonnage. 

Its  London  house  was  established  in  1870  and  that  at  Cardiff, 
Wales,  in  1892. 

William  B.  Bowring,  of  the  New  York  house,  went  to  Liverpool 
in  1871  and  Thomas  B.  Bowring  (afterwards  Sir  Thomas  B.  Bow- 
ring) came  to  New  York  as  the  head  of  the  house  here.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Brenton  Archibald,  Mr.  Frederick  C.  Bowring,  now 
Chairman  of  the  British  company,  came  here.  Mr.  Thomas  B. 
Bowring  went  to  London  in  1892  and  Mr.  Lawrence  Bowring  Stod- 
dart  came  to  New  York  and  in  1919  returned  to  England.  In  1897 
Mr.  Charles  W.  Bowring  came  here. 

C.  T.  Bowring  &  Company,  the  parent  house,  became  a  private 
limited  company  in  1899  and  the  New  York  house  of  Bowring  Si 
Company  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
York  in  1902;  the  Newfoundland  house  becoming  a  limited  corpora- 
tion under  the  name  of  Bowring  Brothers,  Ltd. 

The  New  York  house  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the  parent 
company.  Mr.  Charles  W.  Bowring,  a  great  grandson  of  Benjamin 
Bowring  who  founded  the  business  more  than  a  century  ago,  is  the 
senior  director  and  is  also  a  director  of  the  British  house  of  C.  T. 

—  264  — 


HHSSISSSH 


tC\ 


X7 


V/ 


T7 


/  \ 


t7 


T7 


n^ 


\  / 


Fel 


/. ., 


'.  / 


XJ 


<& 


Bowring  &  Company,  Ltd.,  and  of  Bowring  Brothers,  Ltd.,  New- 
foundland. The  other  resident  directors  are  Mr.  Cyril  Bowring, 
brother  of  Mr.  Charles  W.  Bowring,  and  Mr.  L.  L.  Richards,  who 
was  the  director  of  the  Bureau  of  Transportation  of  the  War  Trade 
Board  in  Washington  during  the  war. 

In  1886  the  Red  Cross  Line  was  started  by  the  Bowring  in- 
terest and  has  since  been  engaged  in  regular  freight  and  passenger 
traffic  between  New  York,  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia,  and  St.  John's, 
Newfoundland,  the  New  York  house  being  the  general  agents  for  the 
Red  Cross  Line  and  also  agents  for  the  Bibby-Henderson  Lines  to 
Marseilles,  Egypt,  Ceylon,  South  India  and  Burma.  They  are  also 
IT.  S.  agents  for  prominent  Scandinavian  steamship  owners  and  for 
the  London  house  of  C.  T.  Bowring  &  Company,  Ltd.,  owners  of 
tank  and  cargo  steamers. 

Bowring  &  Company  do  a  very  large  business  as  shipbrokers. 
specializing  in  both  British  and  Scandinavian  tonnage  and  contract- 
ing for  the  building  of  new  steamers  specially  constructed  for  par- 
ticular trades,  largely  for  Canadian  coal,  iron  and  steel  interests  and 
the  nitrate  trade  of  Chile.  They  are  still  largely  identified  with  oil 
shipments  and  during  the  war  period  were  very  large  shippers  of 
fuel  oil  to  the  British  Admiralty  and  continue  to  carry  on  an  ex- 
tensive business  in  the  importation  of  Newfoundland  products,  in- 
cluding seal  products,  seal  skins,  seal  and  cod  oil,  etc. 

The  steamship  "Stephano"  of  the  Red  Cross  Line,  was  tor- 
pedoed by  the  Submarine  "U-53"  off  Nantucket.  This  was  a  ship 
especially  built  and  strengthened  for  scaling.  The  Newfoundland 
house  of  Bowring  Brothers,  Ltd.,  are  one  of  the  largest  owners  of 
sealing  steamers  in  the  world.  The  steamship  "Florizel,"  which  was 
also  specially  built  for  ice  work,  has  the  distinction  of  having 
brought  in  the  largest  cargo  of  seal  skins  ever  carried,  aggregating 
49,600. 

The  firm  of  Bowring  &  Company  is  backed  by  a  century's  record 
of  sound  business  principles  and  the  various  departments  of  their 
business  are  ably  organized  under  competent  heads. 


—  265  — 


"BALTIMORE  &  OHIO  RAILROAD  CO. 

ONE  of  the  most  important  railroad  lines  running  out  of  New 
York  and  connecting  with  the  Western  gateways  is  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio.  This  company  maintains  an  extensive  float- 
ing equipment  in  New  York  Harbor,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 
In  active  charge  of  this  equipment,  for  the  past  twenty-six  years, 
has  been  a  man  well  versed  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  transporta- 
tion— James  H.  Clark. 

Captain  Clark  was  born  in  Smithtown,  Long  Island,  June  22, 
1864,  the  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Phalon)  Clark.  He  received  his 
education  in  the  public  schools,  Coopers  Institute  of  New  York  City 
and  by  serving  an  apprenticeship  with  the  New  York  Iron  Works 
and  Engine  Builders,  after  which  he  found  himself  qualified  as  a 
mechanical  engineer,  with  a  slight  leaning  toward  marine  construc- 
tion. 

Mr.  Clark  became  connected  with  the  West  Shore  Railroad  as 
Chief  Engineer  of  Ferries  from  188-1  to  1888,  and  in  October  of 
1888  he  entered  the  ranks  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  and 
Staten  Island  Rapid  Transit  R.  R.,  serving  in  the  capacity  of  En- 
gineer of  Ferries,  Master  Mechanic,  Superintendent,  of  the  S.  I. 
R.  T.  Ry.,  and  as  Asst.  Supt.  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  New  York  Terminals, 
and  General  Superintendent  of  the  S.  I.  R.  T.  Ry.  In  1913  Mr. 
Clark  was  placed  in  sole  control  of  all  floating  equipment  pertain- 
ing to  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Co. 

Mr.  Clark  entered  the  service  of  the  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  as  an  official 
and  for  32  years  has  continued,  always  as  an  official  of  the  com- 
pany, during  which  time  his  knowledge  of  harbor  transportation  as 
well  as  railroad  management  has  given  him  a  place  in  the  front  ranks 
of  men  foremost  in  commercial  transportation.  During  his  career 
with  the  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  he  served  his  superiors  with  a  marked  degree 
of  both  efficiency  and  loyalty,  and  ruled  his  subordinates  without 
seeming  to,  so  that  his  present  hosts  of  friends  number  those  from 
both  sides  of  the  fence,  not  one  of  whom  but  would  be  guided  by  his 
least  suggestion. 

Mr.  Clark  is  a  member  of  all  traffic  organizations  and  Railroad 
Clubs  and  several  yacht  clubs,  as  well  as  the  Staten  Island  Club, 
Lotus  Club,  Engineers  Club,  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick,  K.  of  C. 
Catholic  Club  of  N.  Y. ;  Baltimore  Country  Club,  Baltimore  Ath- 
letic Club  and  Merchant's  Club.  He  holds  an  unlimited  tonnage 
license  of  Master  for  lake,  bays  and  sounds,  as  well  as  a  Chief  En- 
gineer's licenses  covering  the  same,  and  in  his  present  position,  when 
anything  arises  when  a  decision  is  needed  imperatively,  it  is  always 
the  "Chief"  that  shoulders  the  burden. 

—  266  — 


JAMES  W.  ELWELL  &  CO.,  Inc. 

THIS  firm  was  founded  in  Bath,  Maine,  by  Mr.  John  Elwell  in 
18521.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  trading,  small  schooners 
were  used  in  the  West  Indies  trade  and  Air.  Elwell,  being  a 
merchant,  dealt  largely  in  broadcloths  and  other  dry  goods,  crock- 
ery, hardware  and  provisions.  Imports  consisted  of  Jamaica  rum, 
sliooks  of  superior  quality  and  other  West  Indian  products.  Dur- 
ing these  first  ten  years,  Mr.  Elwell  extended  his  business,  and  in 
1881  the  business  was  established  in  New  York,  an  office  being 
opened  at  57   South  street. 

In  1838  Air.  Elwell  took  in  his  son,  the  late  James  W.  Elwell, 
as  junior  partner,  and  in  1847,  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father, 
James  W.  became  the  head  of  the  firm.  A  few  years  later  a 
younger  brother  of  James  and  the  bookkeeper  of  the  old  firm  were 
admitted  to  partnership. 

After  remaining  nearly  half  a  century  at  No.  57  South  street, 
the  business  of  James  W.  Elwell  &  Co.  was  removed  to  No.  47 
South  street.  The  wonderful  energy,  ability  and  integrity  of 
Air.  James  W.  Elwell  resulted  in  the  growth  of  the  business,  and 
in  1886  the  firm  became  agents  of  the  Fabre  Line  of  freight  and 
passenger   steamers   between   Alediterranean   ports    and    New    York. 

This  business  has  grown  extensively,  and  is  now  the  most  im- 
portant Line  out  of  Ncav  York  to  the  Alediterranean. 

In  May  of  last  year,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  name,  the 
business  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  this  State,  with  a 
capitalization  of  $1,000,000,  the  only  change  being  in  the  addition 
of  the  word  "Incorporated""  to  the  title  at  which  time  Air.  Howard 
E.  Jones  was  elected  President,  Air.  Harvey  G.  Perine  Vice-Presi- 
dent, -Rodrique  Joly,  Treasurer,  and  Robert  W.  Swanson,  Secre- 
tary. 

Of  these  gentlemen  it  may  be  said  that  Air.  Perine  has  been 
with  the  concern  over  thirty-three  years,  Air.  Jolly  for  nineteen 
years,  and  Air.  Swanson  about  two  years. 


\J 

k? 

—  267  — 


gARCIA  &  T>IAZ 

ONE  of  the  most  successful  Spanish  shipping  concerns  in  the 
United  States  in  relation  to  the  comparatively  short  time  they 
have  been  in  business  is  the  firm  of  Garcia  &  Diaz,  with  offices 
at  59-61  Pearl  Street. 

The  firm  was  originally  established  by  Manuel  Diaz,  one  of  the 
widest  awake,  most  progressive  and  far-seeing  of  the  present  genera- 
tion of  younger  Spanish  business  men,  who,  at  a  time  when  cargo 
space  was  eagerly  sought  all  over  the  world,  succeeded  in  interesting 
several  of  the  largest  Spanish  ship  owners  to  send  their  steamers  to 
the  States,  and  in  a  short  time  Mr.  Diaz'  office  became  the  clearing 
house  for  the  chartering  of  Spanish  steamers  in  the  port  of  New 
York. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1919  the  volume  of  business  had 
increased  to  such  an  extent  that  Mr.  Diaz,  in  order  to  render  the 
service  that  would  meet  the  standard  that  he  had  set  up  to  that 
time,  found  it  necessary  to  look  for  an  associate,  and  in  June  of 
that  year  he  became  associated  with  Marcelino  Garcia  under  the 
present  firm  name  of  Garcia  &  Diaz. 

Mr.  Diaz  considered  himself  very  fortunate  in  interesting  Mr. 
Garcia  as  a  co-partner,  for,  to  his  conviction,  no  other  man  could 
bave  filled  the  gap  to  better  advantage,  as  has  been  proven  by  the 
continued  success  of  the  firm,  due  in  great  part  to  his  intelligent  and 
active  co-operation. 

Shortly  after  the  inception  of  the  co-partnership  they  estab- 
lished a  regular  line  of  cargo  steamers  with  monthly  sailings  from 
New  York  to  all  ports  in  Spain,  and,  following  the  policy  to  which 
the  success  of  the  business  is  attributed,  that  is,  the  furnishing  of 
the  best  service  possible,  their  line  now  ranks  second  to  none  in  the 
Spanish   trade. 

Today  the  firm  of  Garcia  &  Diaz  maintains  a  bi-monthly  service 
to  all  ports  in  Spain  and  may  be  considered  one  of  the  best  equipped 
to  render  the  service  that  spells  continued  success. 


—  2G8  - 


CO  ST  ON  SIGNAL  COMPANY 

THE  dangers  of  the  sea  have  been  much  diminished  by  modern 
science  and  invention  in  the  line  of  preventive  devices,  and  espe- 
cially life-saving  appliances,  the  manufacture  of  which  has  been 
developed  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.     The  Coston  Signal  Com- 
pany  of  57-59  Front  street,  New  York,  has  been   a  leading  factor 
in  this  development. 

The  business  now  conducted  under  that  name  was  established  in 
1840  by  Benjamin  Franklin  Coston,  inventor  and  manufacturer  of 
night  signals  and  ship  rockets.  The  founder  conducted  the  busi- 
ness until  his  son,  William  F.  Coston,  became  of  age  some  time  in 
the  sixties,  and  took  active  charge  of  the  business.  The  business 
was  developed  under  his  management,  and  several  life-saving  appli- 
ances were  added  to  the  specialties  of  the  firm.  He  continued  at 
the  head  of  the  business  until  his  death  in  1901,  in  which  year  the 
business  was  incorporated,  his  widow,  Mrs.  Anna  L.  Coston,  being 
the  president  of  the  corporation  and  having  the  active  executive 
direction  of  the  business  until  1907,  when  she  retired  from  active 
participation  in  the  business,  and  is  at  present  vice-president  and 
a  director  of  the  company  in  an  advisory  capacity,  and  Mr.  Jay 
W.  Becherer  became  president  of  the  company  in  which  office  he 
remains.  Under  his  management  the  business  has  been  expanded 
so  as  to  include,  in  addition  to  the  company's  own  life-saving  spe- 
cialties and  signals,  a  general  business  as  dealers  in  a  complete  line 
of  life-saving  appliances  for  steamers,  together  with  general  steam- 
ship supplies  and  ship  chandlery  business,  under  the  trade  name  of 
Coston  Supply  Company. 

Of  their  specialties,  Coston  Night  Signals  have  for  over  seventy 
years  established  a  standard  of  excellence  and  reliability  never  ap- 
proached by  any  competitor.  They  have  been  officially  adopted  by 
the  United  States  Government  in  all  branches  of  its  service,  and 
generally  by  the  merchant  marine  of  most  countries.  Coston  Dis- 
tress Outfits  consist  of  twelve  red  signals,  each  burning  two  minutes, 
properly  packed  in  a  metallic  watertight  case,  and  are  among  the 
articles  required  by  the  United  States  Steamboat  Inspection  Service 
in  the  equipment  of  life-boats.  The  Coston  Ship  Rockets,  rising  to  a 
height  of  over  400  feet  and  throwing  a  shower  of  red  balls  that  burn 
with  great  intensity  are  in  wide  use  by  ocean  liners  and  other  steam- 
ship lines  and  are  standard  everywhere;  the  Coston  Life  Buoy 
Water  Light,  approved  by  the  United  States  Board  of  Supervising 
Inspectors,  Department  of  Commerce,  and  by  the  British  Board  of 
Trade,  and  the  Coston  Deck  Flare;  Coston  Life  Boat  Equipment 

—  269  — 


^>^ 


XJ 


XT 


XT 


XJ 


£2k 

XJ 


XJ 


in 


tr 


XJ 


ei 


Y7 


T7  T7 


jCX 


XT 


/Z\ 


\J 


ZA 


V7 


Z2x 

r7 


(including  oars,  bread  breakers,  and  water  breakers,  sails,  sea  drags 
and  oil  spreader,  cork  rings,  day  distress  signals  and  life  pre- 
servers), Compass,  Lanterns,  Boat  Hooks,  etc. 

The  Coston  Davit  Turning  Out  Gear  can  be  attached  to  any 
round  bar  Davit,  and  in  many  ways  simplifies  and  makes  safe  the 
operation  of  the  davit  in  every  emergency.  It  has  been  approved 
by  engineers,  classification  societies  and  the  United  States  Steam- 
boat Inspection  Service,  and  has  been  installed  on  a  large  number 
of  ocean  and  coastwise  vessels,  including  those  of  many  of  the 
largest  lines.  The  Coston  Positive  Boat  Releasing  Gear,  with  its 
absolute  safety  of  operation,  elimination  of  danger  of  boat  being 
detached  by  accidental  movement  during  launching,  quick  instan- 
taneous release  at  any  desired  point  of  launching  of  boat  under  com- 
plete control  of  one  man  in  charge  of  the  boat,  and  many  other  fea- 
tures of  safe  and  positive  action,  is  in  highest  degree  simple,  safe, 
and  absolutely  foolproof. 

The  Coston  Line  Throwing  Gun,  mounted  on  steel  carriage  for 
farger  vessels,  and  in  shoulder  gun  type  for  vessels  under  300  tons, 
Coston  Collapsible  Lifeboats,  besides  Metallic  Life  Boats  and  Metal- 
lic Cylinder  Life  Rafts  and  lifeboat  equipment  of  every  kind  to 
comply  with  the  Seaman's  Act  are  included  in  their  line.  The  com- 
pany also  handles  deck,  engine  and  cabin  stores  and  Steamship 
supplies  in  general. 

In  its  specialties  the  company  does  a  large  domestic  and  export 
business,  and  constantly  fills  large  orders  for  the  United  States  Navy 
and  also  for  the  United  States  Army  Transport  Service.  High 
merit  in  their  life-saving  specialties  have  made  them  standard  equip- 
ment for  vessels  of  the  best  class. 


^ 


T7 


270  — 


NORDDEUTSCHER  LLOYD,  BREMEN 

ESTABLISHED  1857  with  a  capital  equalling  $3,000,000. 
As  the  first  steamer,  the  "Bremen"  of  TOO  Hp.  and  2,000 
Register  Tons,  departed  from  Bremerhaven  Juno  19,  1858, 
reaching  New  York  July  4th.  Three  additional  steamers  of  simi- 
lar type  were  placed  in  service  in  the  course  of  the  year.  In 
spite  of  severe  setbacks  caused  by  financial  crises  in  the  first 
few  years  of  its  existence,  the  Lloyd  succeeded  in  creating  a  fleet 
of  eight  steamers,  the  "New  York,"  "Hansa,"  "Amerika,"  "Her- 
mann," "Deutschland,"  "Union"  and  "Weser"  so  that  in  1867  a 
regular  weekly  passenger,  mail  and  freight  service  with  what  for 
these  times  were  considered  large  and  fast  steamers,  could  be  main- 
tained between  Bremen  and  New  York.  In  the  same  year  the 
Bremen-Baltimore  service  was  inaugurated  with  two  2,200-tons 
steamers,  which  was  followed  in  1869  by  the  Bremen-Havana-New 
Orleans  and  the  Galveston  service.  In  1881  the  company  entered 
a  new  era  in  starting  a  fast  express  service  with  the  steamer 
"Elbe,"  to  be  followed  by  the  "Werra,"  "Fulda,"  "Eider," 
"Ems,"  "Aller,"  "Trae,"  "Saale,"  and  "Lahn"  of  about  9,000  Hp. 
and  5,350  Register  Tons  the  "Spree"  and  "Havel"  of  12,500  Hp. 
and  7,000  Tons,  so  that  in  1892  the  company's  steamers  made 
92  round  trips  between  Bremen  and  New  York,  and  41  round 
trips  between  Bremen  and  Baltimore.  In  1891  the  steamers 
"Werra"  and  "Fulda"  were  placed  in  the  Mediterranean  service, 
laying  the  foundation  to  a  line  which  eventually  proved  a  valu- 
able asset   to   the   company. 

On  February  20,  1882,  25  years  after  so  modest  beginnings, 
the  North  German  Lloyd  fleet  consisted  of  29  transatlantic 
steamers,  7  steamers  plying  between  European  ports,  14  river 
steamers  and  48  lighters  of  a  total  of  104,500  register  tons.  The 
passenger,  mail  and  freight  service  to  East  Asia  and  Australia 
was  opened  in  1886,  with  branch  lines  to  Japan  and  Korea,  as 
well  as  to  Samoa  and  Tonge  Isle,  which  necessitated  a  considerable 
increase  of  the  tonnage.  Available  space  will  not  permit  going 
too  much  into  details,  but  we  must  not  fail  to  mention  the  advent 
of  the  so-called  "Barbarossa"  class  of  steamers,  a  revelation  to  the 
travelling  public,  with  their  superstructure,  permitting  the  placing 
of  cabins  and  social  rooms  in  the  upper  decks,  giving  them  free 
access  to  the  sea-breezes  and  thus  securing  fresh  air  and  ventila- 
tion to  an  extent  heretofore  unknown,  and  eliminating  the  sicken- 
ing "ship   smell"   so   feared   by   the   average   voyager. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  express  steamers  "Kaiser  Wilhelm  der 
Grosse,"  "Kronprinz  Wilhelm,"  "Kaiser  Wilhelm  II,"  and  "Kron- 
prinzessin    Cecelie,"    and    the    steamer    "George    Washington,"    all 

—  271  — 


t7 


ucxJL^x 


^x 


T7 


TJ 


<^, 


Cw 


T7 


cs: 


T7 


T7 


e© 


u^. 


T7 


■<cx 
T7 


JZX 


XJ 


■& 


f5^ 


/z\ 


XT 


It 


still  well  known  and  remembered  by  the  travelling  public,  the  com- 
pany possessed  a  fleet  of  steamers  unsurpassed  by  any  line,  and 
for  years  stood  at  the  head  of  all  of  them  in  the  carrying  of 
passengers  in  all  classes  between  United  States  ports  and  Europe, 
landing  in  New  York  alone  in  the  year  1913,  in  147  trips,  18,348 
first  class,  35,130  second  class,  and  164,536  third  class  passen- 
gers. The  outbreak  of  the  World  War  in  1914,  with  its  conse- 
quences, has  proved  a  severe  blow  to  this  proud  company.  Under 
the  peace  treaty  all  steamers  above  1,600  tons  had  to  be  deliv- 
ered to  the  Allies,  destroying  with  one  stroke  the  fruit  of  57  years 
of  hard  but  successful  labor  and  leaving  the  North  German  Lloyd 
in  a  totally  crippled  condition.  Hanseatic  pluck  and  spirit  does 
not  know  defeat  and,  although  the  beginning  must  naturally  be 
small  and  modest,  as  in  1857,  the  time  is  probably  not  far  off 
when  we  will  see  the  Lloyd  flag,  Key  and  Anchor  and  wreath  of 
Oak  Leaves,  appear  again  in  our  port. 

CORY  MANN  GEORGE 
CORPORA  TION 

THIS   company,  incorporated  under   the  laws   of   the   State   of 
New  York  in  May,  1919,  are  large  suppliers  of  bunker  coals 
in  the  port  of  New  York;  in  fact  their  ability  to  supply  un- 
limited quantities  of  the  best  grades  of  coal  at  the  principle  ports 
of   the   Eastern    hemisphere   has   placed    this    company    among   the 
recognized  leaders   in  exporting  coal   and  American   bunkering. 

This  company  is  the  American  representative  for  the  British 
firms  of  Wm.  Cory  &  Son,  Ltd.,  and  Mann,  George  &  Co.,  Ltd. 
These  companies,  while  separate  organizations,  together  operate, 
each,  in  their  special  line  as  coal  exporters,  foreign  coaling  con- 
tractors, coal  depot  proprietors,  fuel  oil  contractors,  and  steam- 
ship brokers.  They  are  contractors  to  the  British  Admiralty  and 
other  Navies  and  the  principle  steamship  lines. 

With  these  connections,  Cory  Mann  George  Corporation  be- 
comes allied  to  what  is  probably  the  world's  largest  coal  exporting 
vnd  bunkering  organization. 

Mr.  E.  D.  Enney  is  the  President  and  principle  executive, 
assisted  by  Wm.  Shirden,  Secretary,  H.  W.  Frey,  Treasurer,  and 
J.  W.  Darville,  General  Sales  Manager,  with  general  offices  at 
26  Beaver  Street,  New  York  City.  Branch  offices  are  located  in 
the  Royster  Bldg.,  Norfolk,  Va.,  Hogshire  Bldg.,  Newport  News, 
Ya.,  1202  Garrett  Bldg.,  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  121  Walnut  Street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

—  272  — 


> 

'Jl 

-^ 

"/) 

^ 

*<- 

w 

^ 

"^ 

^ 

O 

— *. 

25 

^ 

^_ 

5J 

w 

«■ 

P3 

c 

— ^ 

2* 

3 

^Q 

N; 

L^sJ 

-> 

X 

~T 

x 

f- 

^ 

N»- 

2 

Mk, 

i 

Q 

:=f- 

w 

jjj 

C5 

J5 

w 

C"- 

It1 

O 

»— i 

*• 

w 

5 

TALBOT,  BIRD  &  COMPANY,  Inc. 

TALBOT,  BIRD  &  COMPANY,  INC.,  was  incorporated  June 
1st,  1916,  and  succeeded  the  firm  of  Talbot,  Bird  &  Company 
which  was  organized  about  1912  by  James  A.  Alexander,  John 
M.  Talbot  and  Samuel  Bird ;  and  represented  the  Marine  Depart- 
ment of  the  ./Etna  Insurance  Company. 

Talbot,  Bird  &  Co.,  Inc.,  are  now  marine  underwriters  and  gen- 
eral managers  for  the  _Etna  Insurance  Co.  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Co.  of  Philadelphia,  Springfield  Fire  & 
Marine  Insurance  Co.  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  the  Universal  Insur- 
ance Co.  of  Newark,  N.  J. 

The  scope  of  the  corporation's  underwriting  on  hulls  and  cargoes 
extends  to  risks  throughout  the  world,  agents  representing  them  for 
the  settlement  and  payment  of  claims  at  all  the  principal  ports. 

Talbot,  Bird  &  Co.,  Inc.,  have  always  been  recognized  and  known 
in  marine  insurance  circles  for  their  sense  of  justice  in  the  matter 
of  disputed  claims  and  the  leniency  in  which  these  have  been  dis- 
posed of  without  recourse  to  law.  They  take  a  just  pride  in  their 
reputation  for  prompt  settlement  of  claims,  which  is  the  all  impor- 
tant feature  in  its  relation  to  merchants  engaged  in  the  export  and 
import  business,  and  foreign  trade  in  general. 

The  present  officers  of  Talbot,  Bird  &  Co.,  Inc.,  are: 

Samuel  Bird,  President;  R.  A.  Fulton,  Vice  President;  Harry 
Bird,  Secretary. 

The  Board  of  Directors  is  as  follows  : 

Samuel  Bird,  R.  A.  Fulton,  Harry  Bird,  F.  S.  Bowen,  J.  S. 
Gilbertson,  J.  T.  Byrne,  G.  W.  Mclndoe. 

Mr.  Samuel  Bird  is  in  charge  of  the  underwriting  and  general 
finances.  Mr.  Harry  Bird  and  Mr.  Gilbertson  are  in  charge  of  the 
claims  department  of  hulls  and  cargoes.  Mr.  Gilbertson  is  chairman 
of  the  Average  Adjusters  Association  of  the  United  States,  and  a 
recognized  authority  on  marine  claims  and  adjustments.  Mr. 
Harry  Bird  is  also  Vice  President  of  the  Board  of  Underwriters  of 
New  York. 

All  the  officers  and  Directors  are  engaged  actively  in  the  under- 
writing, loss  and  financial  departments  of  the  corporation,  which 
gives  them  a  strong  organization  for  the  maintenance  of  an  impor- 
tant branch  of  America's  foreign  trade. 


^     -6- 


271 


THE  FREDERICK  SNARE 
CORPORATION 

WHATEVER  the  craft  that  bears  him,  the  wayfarer  on  the 
waters  of  New  York  Harbor  will  find  it  impossible  to  avoid 
contact  with  one  or  other  of  the  many  harbor  works  which 
in  the  course  of  the  past  twenty-one  years  have  arisen  under  the 
hand  of  Frederick  Snare  Corporation,  formerly  known  as  The 
Snare   and  Triest   Company. 

If  he  enters  the  harbor  as  passenger  on  an  ocean  liner  his 
gaze  will  rest  on  the  spacious  wharves  and  the  outstanding  ferry 
terminal  at  Staten  Island,  on  the  more  distant  wharves  along  the 
Brooklyn  shore,  on  the  teeming  city  piers  along  the  Hudson,  and 
when  his  ship  is  safely  berthed  and  he  passes  over  the  gangplank 
he  will  find  himself  on  the  spacious  deck  of  a  modern  structure 
where  meet  the  tides  of  travel  from  all  parts  of  the  globe.  The 
ferry  terminal  and  some  of  those  wharves  he  viewed  at  Staten 
Island,  many  of  those  he  saw  in  the  Brooklyn  distance  and  along 
the  Hudson,  and  in  all  likelihood  the  very  wharf  at  which  he 
lands — all  these  were  reared  by  the  constructive  skill  of  Frederick 
Snare  Corporation. 

Should  our  wayfarer  approach  the  City  from  Long  Island 
Sound  his  interest  will  center  largely  in  the  succession  of  stately 
views  of  the  bridges  spanning  the  East  River.  He  will  pass  under 
five  of  these  wonderful  highways.  To  all  of  these  except  the  Man- 
hattan Bridge,  the  Frederick  Snare  Corporation  has  contributed 
important  construction  work,  and  in  the  case  of  one,  the  Wil- 
liamsburgh  Bridge,  it  successfully  rebuilt  and  reinforced  import- 
ant parts  of  the  structure,  increasing  its  strength  and  capacity, 
with  no  interruption  to   traffic. 

Some  of  the  wharves  and  sea  walls  he  will  pass  along  the 
East  River  are  also  evidences  of  the  activities  of  Frederick  Snare 
Corporation,  for  many  of  these  have  been  built  or  remodeled  by  it. 

By  whatever  channel  the  wayfarer  reaches  his  destination,  the 
Narrows,  the  Hudson,  the  East  River,  the  Harlem  he  will  view 
the  works  of  Frederick  Snare  Corporation.  Piers  and  ware- 
houses bordering  the  Narrows,  the  Staten  Island  Ferry  Terminals 
at  St.  George  and  the  Battery,  the  Lackawanna  Ferry  Terminal, 
the  Chelsea  Steamship  Piers,  the  bridges  and  wharves  of  the  East 
River  and  the  Harlem — all  evidences  of  intelligent  constructive 
enterprise,  which  has  developed  into  an  important  industry  and 
has  very  materially  aided  in  the  development  of  those  port  facil- 
ities  so  necessary   for  the  harbor  of  New  York. 

—  275  — 


WEST  INDIA  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY 

THE  WEST  INDIA  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY  is  the  out- 
growth of  the  shipping  business  founded  by  Daniel  Bacon  in 
New  York  City  in  1885.  Daniel  Bacon  is  the  son  of  the  late 
D.  G.  Bacon,  owner  of  a  number  of  famous  American  clipper  ships 
that  carried  the  American  flag  on  the  high  seas  about  the  middle  of 
the  last  century.  Amongst  these  were  the  "Phantom,"'  "Queen  of 
the  East"  and  the  "Game  Cock,"  which  latter  ship  still  holds  a  num- 
ber of  Pacific  ocean  records. 

Mr.  Bacon  started  his  shipping  career  as  a  freight  broker,  but 
later  he  owned  and  operated  during  the  years  1890  to  1900  the  ship 
"Hoogley"  and  the  barks  "Pilgrim"  and  "Fred  P.  Litchfield."  He 
also  operated  a  line  to  Red  Sea  ports  and  Bomba}',  loading  char- 
tered vessels  on  the  berth  with  case  oil  and  general  cargo  for  these 
ports. 

By  1900  these  previous  ventures  had  been  succeeded  by  the  own- 
ership and  operation  of  the  Steamships  "Fortuna,"  "Caribbee" 
and  "Banes"  and  the  operation  of  a  fleet  of  foreign  steamships 
under  time  charters,  and  while  these  chartered  vessels  were  occa- 
sionally despatched  to  European  ports,  their  chief  trade  was  between 
the  United  States  and  West  Indian,  Central  and  South  American 
ports.  Commencing  with  an  occasional  "round  trip"  and  building 
up  business  gradually  into  a  regular  service  with  many  yearly  con- 
tracts for  the  carriage  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  tons  of  coal, 
sugar,  sisal,  lumber  and  similar  bulk  cargoes,  the  business  was  in- 
corporated in  1904  as  the  West  India  Steamship  Company,  under 
which  trade  name  it  continued  to  expand,  until  from  1910  until  the 
time  of  the  armistice,  the  Company  was  operating  continuously  35 
to  40  steamships  in  the  West  India  trade.  In  the  meantime,  Mr. 
Bacon  had  established  an  office  in  Havana,  Cuba,  which  besides  act- 
ing as  agent  for  the  West  India  Steamship  Company,  has  also  had 
for  many  years  the  agency  of  Messrs.  Elder,  Dempster  &  Co.,  Liv- 
erpool, Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha  and  several  other  steamship  com- 
panies. 

In  1888  Mr.  Bacon  became  the  New  York  agent  for  Elder, 
Dempster  &  Co.,  and  has  continued  to  act  as  such  ever  since,  repre- 
senting this  firm  in  the  operation  of  their  Line  from  New  York  to 
West  Coast  of  Africa. 


M 


276  — 


LIGHTERAGE-ITS  FUNCTION 

THE  important  part  that  lighterage  plays  in  the  maintenance  of 
New  York's  supremacy  as  a  port  to  say  nothing  of  its  por- 
tion as  a  manufacturing'  and  mercantile  center  is  little  realized 
by  the  average  person. 

It  was  not  until  the  Harbor  Strike  in  the  spring  of  1919  that 
this  was  forcibly  impressed  upon  the  citizens  of  New  York  when 
the  food  supply  of  the  city  was  seriously  imperilled  and  the  sub- 
ways, elevated  roads,  surface  railroads  and  lighting  plants  were  only 
saved  from  a  complete  shut-down  for  lack  of  fuel  by  the  manning 
of  some  tied-up  tugs  by  volunteer  crews  of  owners. 

When  every  day  spent  in  port  by  a  ship  meant  the  prolonging 
of  the  War,  it  was  lighters  that  made  it  possible  to  reduce  the  time 
of  ships  in  port  to  a  minimum  by  their  use  as  auxiliaries  for  over- 
crowded wharves  and  enabling  ships  to  work  the  maximum  number 
of  gangs  offshore  and  inshore  at  the  same  time. 

The  functions  of  lighters  are  many  in  the  port  of  New  York. 
They  are  as  shuttles  ceaselessly  darting  to  and  fro  in  the  loom  of 
commerce.  Ships  arriving  in  New  York  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
bring  merchandise  for  trans-shipment  by  ships  departing  for  various 
parts  of  the  world — and  this  movement  from  ship  to  ship  employs 
an  ever-increasing  fleet  of  lighters.  The  many  manufacturing  en- 
terprises situated  on  and  near  the  waterfront  are  so  located  to  make 
it  possible  to  receive  raw  material  and  ship  manufactures  by  lighter 
direct  from  ship  to  factory  and  vice  versa,  and  the  extensive  ware- 
house system  of  the  Port  is  to  a  great  extent  dependent  upon  light- 
erage service  for  its  maintenance. 

The  physical  characteristics  of  the  Port,  making  it  largely  de- 
pendent upon  water  transportation  for  its  supplies  of  food  and  fuel 
has  been  responsible  for  the  development  of  the  most  highly  organ- 
ized system  of  inland  water  transportation  in  the  World.  In  this 
development  Captain  Frederick  William  Jarvis  was  a  pioneer,  hav- 
ing established  the  business  of  the  Jarvis  Lighterage  Compan}^,  as  a 
public  lighterman,  just  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  in  1866. 
A  list  of  the  customers  of  Captain  Jarvis,  who  are  still  being  served 
by  this  company,  includes  the  names  of  many  of  the  largest  and 
most  successful  merchants  and  manufacturers  in  the  Metropolitan 
District. 

The  Jarvis  Lighterage  Compan}^  was  purchased  in  1911  bv 
H.  M.  Lee  and  William  Simmons,  the  former  having  established  the 
business  of  Lee's  Lighters  in  1899,  and  the  latter,  the  business  of 
the  Simmons  Transportation  Company  1902.  In  January,  1921, 
the  operation  of  these  three  companies  was  consolidated  under  the 
management  of  Lee  &  Simmons,  Inc.,  thus  bringing  into  being  the 

—  277  — 


VT 


E3ES 


jC\ 


XJ 


JZ\ 


XJ 


XJ 


xj 


£X 


\3. 


IT 


XJ 


XJ 


1 


XJXJ 


r\ 


XJ 


^\ 


XJ 


XJ 


largest  plant  and  organization  of  its  kind  devoted  exclusively  to  the 
service  of  the  shipping  public  of  the  Port  and  tributary  inland 
waters. 

Henry  H.  Lee,  the  father  of  H.  M.  Lee,  has  been  engaged  in  the 
Steam  Hoisting  and  Towing  business  in  the  Port  of  New  York 
since  the  late  seventies,  under  the  corporate  title  of  H.  H.  Lee  Corn- 
pan}'  and  Lee's  Towing  Line,  Inc. 


SIR  WILLIAM  REARDON  SMITH 

&  SONS,  Ltd. 

IN  a  work  of  this  nature,  which  undertakes  to  portray  the  inter- 
esting sidelights   of   business   romance   in   a   series   of   historical 

sketches  of  firms  and  individuals  who  have  grown  and  developed 
co-incident  with  our  port,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  give  mention  to 
the  new  blood,  energy,  and  brains  that  is  ever  being  drawn  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  earth  to  partake  of  the  wonderful  opportuni- 
ties here  presented  and  to  further  enhance  the  fast  growing  reputa- 
tion of  New  York  as  the  nerve  center  of  world  commerce.  Such 
action  on  the  part  of  men  who  have  been  the  leaders  of  maritime  in- 
terests in  other  ports  is  their  acknowledgment  that  this  is  the  coming 
maritime  capital  of  the  woi'ld,  as  it  is  fast  growing  to  be  the  financial 
capital. 

Of  such  men,  there  is  none  perhaps,  whose  coming  has  such  a  sig- 
nificance in  this  direction  as  Sir  William  Reardon  Smith,  Bart.,  of 
Cardiff,  Wales.  Sir  William  has  achieved  notable  success  in  the 
maritime  affairs  of  his  native  land  and  comes  to  the  great  port  of  the 
New  World  amply  qualified  by  experience  and  ability  to  take  the 
same  commanding  position  in  his  new  sphere  of  activity.  He  is  the 
head  of  the  following  English  concerns  with  offices  in  both  Cardiff 
and  London,  viz.,  the  St.  Just  S.  S.  Co.,  Ltd. ;  the  Devon  Mutual  In- 
surance Co.,  Ltd. ;  the  Leeds  Shipping  Co.,  Ltd. ;  and  the  Cornbor- 
ough  Shipping  Line,  Ltd.  The  total  tonnage  of  the  fleets  under  his 
direction  is  in  excess  of  300,000.  Associated  with  him  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  large  interests  are  his  two  sons,  William  and  Doug- 
las, and  his  two  sons-in-law,  Mr.  A.  J.  Popham  and  Mr.  W.  G. 
Liley. 

Sir  William's  American  interests  are  conducted  under  the  firm 
name  of  Sir  William  Reardon  Smith  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  and  offices  arc 
maintained  at  44  Beaver  street,  New  York  City,  with  Mr.  W.  G. 
Liley  in  charge. 

—  278  — 


THE  ORIENTAL  "NAVIGATION  CO. 

A  LOVE  for  Franco  and  the  cause  of  the  Allies  during  the  Avar 
is  responsible,  perhaps,  more  nearly  than  any  other  factor 
for  the  origin  of  the  Oriental  Navigation  Company.  The 
stress  of  the  Allies  at  the  time  was  particularly  acute  at  sea.  It 
was  beginning  to  look  as  though  England  would  be  isolated  and 
starved,  and  without  England  and  her  fleet,  victory  would  be  cer- 
tain for  the  German  government. 

When  the  conflagration  of  war  overtook  Europe,  Mr.  Philip  I)e 
Ronde,  now  president  of  the  Oriental  Navigation  Company,  was  ex- 
tremely pro- Ally.  So  was  his  friend,  Mr.  Alberto  Dodero,  of  Buenos 
Aires,  with  whom  he  had  been  associated  during  several  years  of  ex- 
port and  import  business  in  South  America.  One  day  in  the  autumn 
of  1915  Mr.  Dodero  appeared  in  Mr.  DeRonde's  New  York  office  and 
bluntly  proposed  a  steamship  service  to  French  ports,  a  proposition 
which  was  immediately  accepted. 

The  commercial  history  is  not  greatly  different  in  character  from 
that  of  other  companies  which  developed  during  the  war,  but  the 
war  history  of  some  of  its  ships  are  interesting  and  involved  the  com- 
pany in  some  of  the  most  spectacular  events  of  the  war. 

The  first  ship  was  the  Brazilian  S.  S.  Tropiero  which  made  its 
first  voyage  to  Havre.  She  sailed  from  New  York  late  in  1915, 
arriving  in  Havre  in  January,  1916,  after  an  adventurous  voyage. 
About  this  time  the  world  was.  shocked  by  the  execution  of  the  Eng- 
lishwoman, Edith  Cavell,  by  the  Germans,  and  upon  the  return  of  the 
Tropiero  to  New  York,  the  vessel  was  re-named  the  Edith  Cavell. 
The  Tropiero  was  subsequently  sunk  by  a  German  submarine. 

The  S.  S.  Orleans  gained  fame  as  the  first  American  steamer  to 
sail  from  New  York  for  France  after  the  German  edict  of  February 
1,  1917,  declaring  unrestricted  submarine  warfare  on  all  allied  and 
neutral  tonnage  alike  encountered  in  the  war  zone.  She  braved  the 
submarine  perils  and  arrived  safely  at  Bordeaux  on  February  26, 
1917,  where  she  received  enthusiastic  welcome  from  the  whole  popu- 
lace of  Bordeaux — the  day  being  observed  as  a  holiday.  The  steamer 
was  greeted  on  her  arrival  by  all  civil  and  military  dignitaries  of 
the  town,  a  special  medal  commemorating  the  event  was  struck  and 
presented  to  the  captain  in  the  presence  of  the  American  Naval 
attache  at  Paris,  who,  with  a  party  of  distinguished  Americans, 
journeyed  to  Bordeaux  to  welcome  the  first  American  blockade 
runner.     The  Orleans  was  torpedoed  and  sunk  on  July  3,  1917. 

The  first  armed  merchantman  flying  the  American  flag  was  the 
S.  S.  Aztec.  She  was  also  the  first  armed  merchantman  to  be  sunk, 
being  torpedoed  on  April  1,  1917,  with  a  loss  of  twenty-nine  men. 
The  S.  S.  Gorizia  was  also  sunk  on  April  30  of  the  same  year. 

—  279  — 


T7 


jC\ 


X7 


t7 


H 


£X  ,£X 


V7 


T7 


^^ 


17 


T7 


/IV 


v7 


RFI 


,r\. 

Kt 

The  S.  S.  Guazu,  the  subject  of  the  famous  German  "spurlos 
versenky"  incident  of  the  war  was  sold  by  the  Oriental  office  of  Paris 
after  the  vessel  had  successfully  eluded  the  submarines  and  arrived  in 
Europe.  Her  owners  were  the  Messrs.  Dodero  Brothers  of  Buenos 
Aires,  one  of  whom  has  been  mentioned  above. 

Since  the  war  and  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  severe  depression  in 
shipping,  1920-21,  the  company  expanded  rapidly  and  operated  ser- 
vices to  Brazil  and  River  Plate,  Black  Sea  and  the  Levant,  East 
Africa  and  French  Atlantic  ports,  requiring  a  fleet  of  thirty-five 
ships.  During  1921  new  services  were  inaugurated  between  Gulf  and 
Hamburg-Bremen  and  between  New  York  and  Colombia. 

The  company  has  confined  its  operations  entirely  to  freight  ser- 
vices. Among  the  ships  owned  by  the  company  are  two  fruiters 
which  are  chartered  to  the  United  Fruit  Company  for  West  Indies 


service. 


MOORE  &  McCORMACK  CO.,  Inc. 


M 


"OORE  &  McCORMACK  COMPANY,  INC.,  a  corporation  or- 
ganized under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  prior  to  the 
World  War  is  one  of  the  newer  American  firms  to  become 
permanently  established  among  the  leading  big  ail-American  com- 
panies of  our  Merchant  Marine.  The  founders  of  the  company, 
Mr.  Albert  V.  Moore  and  Mr.  Emmet  J.  McCormack  have  been  en- 
gaged all  of  their  lives  in  the  shipping  business  with  headquarters  in 
New  York,  and  the  success  of  the  firm  is  due  to  the  long  experience 
and  close  application  of  these  two  men. 

This  company  now  operates  a  regular  berth  service  with 
American  flag  ships  between  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
Boston  and  U.  S.  Gulf  ports,  to  Ireland,  to  Scandinavia  and  the 
Baltic,  to  the  West  Indies,  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean,  to  the  East 
Coast  of  South  America,  to  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Levant,  to 
India,  and  to  West  Coast  of  the  United  States. 

The  management  of  the  Commercial  Steamship  Lines  is  entirely 
in  the  hands  of  the  Moore  &  McCormack  Company,  Inc.  In  addi- 
tion to  several  other  general  agencies,  both  American  and  foreign. 
Besides  its  home  office  in  New  York  the  company  also  has  branch 
offices  at  Philadelphia,  at  Havana,  Cuba,  at  Cork,  Ireland,  and  at 
Gothenburg,  Sweden  with  well  established  agencies  at  all  other  ports, 
of  call. 

When  the  United  States  Shipping  Board  started  the  United 
States  Lines  as  a  great  trans-Atlantic  passenger  service  Moore  & 
McCormack  Co.,  Inc.,  was  selected  as  one  of  the  three  representative- 
New  York  companies  to  whom  its  management  was  entrusted. 

—  280  — 


PHILIP  DE  RONDE 
President  of  the  Oriental  Navigation   Company 


THE  NIPPON  YUSEN  KAISHA 

(Jafian  TVlai)  Steamship  Co.  J 

THIS  great  Japanese  company  was  established  in  1885  and  today 
is  considered  Japan's  foremost  marine  transportation  company. 
It  was  the  result  of  an  amalgamation  of  two  separate  concerns, 
namely,  the  Kyodo  Unyo  Kaisha  (Union  Transport  Co.)  and  the 
Mitsu-bishi  Kaisha  (The  Three  Diamonds  Company.)  The  com- 
pany was  then  capitalized  at  Yen  11,000,000  and  the  fleet  com- 
prised 58  steamers,  approximately  69,000  tons.  Today  the  fleet 
numbers  103  vessels  with  an  aggregate  of  500,000  gross  tons  and 
its  steamers  encircle  the  globe. 

At  first  the  company  confined  its  activities  to  the  coastal  trade, 
later  extending  its  operations  to  Korea,  North  China  and  Vladivo- 
stock,  and  in  1893  inaugurated  its  first  regular  ocean  service  to 
and  from  Bombay,  thus  materially  aiding  the  growth  of  the  cotton 
industry  in  Japan. 

In  1896  it  extended  its  activities  to  foreign  waters,  increased  its 
capital  to  Yen  22,000,000,  started  the  construction  of  twelve  new 
steamers  and  established  three  main  lines  of  passenger  and  freight 
service;  i.  e.,  the  European,  American  and  Australian  lines,  all  of 
the  steamers  of  these  lines  running  under  mail  contract  with  the 
Japanese  Government. 

In  the  year  1914,  with  the  advent  of  the  great  world  cataclysm, 
the  company's  extra  freight  steamers  of  the  European  Line  began 
to  operate  from  Europe  to  New  York  by  way  of  the  Atlantic,  re- 
turning to  Japan  by  way  of  the  Pacific,  through  the  Panama  Canal, 
comjileting  a  round  the  world  voyage.  During  this  period  the  part 
played  by  the  Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha  for  the  cause  of  the  Allies 
during  the  great  European  war  was  by  no  means  insignificant. 
Foremost  among  its  contributions  was  the  maintaining  of  the  regu- 
lar fortnightly  Japan-Europe  Mail  Service  and  the  dispatch  of  fre- 
quent auxiliary  steamers  throughout  the  continuance  of  the  war. 
This  undertaking  entailed  heavy  risks  to  the  Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha, 
resulting  in  the  sinking  of  four  mail  steamers,  including  the  Yasaka 
Maru,  one  of  the  finest  ships,  besides  a  new  cargo  carrier.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  eight  of  the  company's  steamers  were  allocated  to  the 
United  States  for  service  in  carrying  food-stuffs  and  war  materials 
to  the  Allies. 

In  1915  the  capital  of  the  company  was  increased  to 
Yen  41,000,000,  and  in  1916  a  regular  four  weekly  freight  service 
was  opened  between  the  Far  East  and  New  York  via  the  Panama 
Canal. 

—  282  — 


U 

W 

W 

1  \ 


\1 


L£X  ^  A 


£X 


\1 


w 

\  / 

w 

1 

gffillslEsj 


w 

%%\% 


In  1918  the  Calcutta-New  York  freight  line  was  established  and 
the  company's  capital  increased  to  Yen  100, 000, 000. 

While  the  Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha  now  has  a  magnificent  fleet  of 
500,000  tons  gross  as  previously  mentioned,  most  of  the  vessels 
being  of  recent  construction,  the  management  has  in  the  course  of 
construction  a  further  500,000  tons  gross  which  will  include  several 
steamers  of  fast  speed  and  superior  passenger  accommodations. 
When  the  erection  of  this  additional  tonnage  is  completed  the 
Nippon  Yusen  Kaisha  will  have  altogether  a  gigantic  fleet  of 
1,000,000  gross  tons. 

Baron  Kondo,  the  late  president  of  the  company,  held  that  office 
for  over  25  years,  and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  quite  recently, 
was  succeeded  by  Vice-President  Ito. 

The  New  York  offices  of  the  Company  are  located  at  10  Bridge 
street. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  TIEBOUT 

THERE  is  no  finer  example  of  the  steady  and  consistent  growth 
of  a  business  firm  built  upon  the  right  foundation  than  the 
house  of  W.  &  J.  Tiebout. 
Established  in  1853,  this  firm  has  ever  since  conducted  its  busi- 
ness in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  its  present  address,  118 
Chambers  Street,  led  by  four  generations  of  Tiebouts  in  succession. 
The  present  heads  of  the  firm  are  John  Tiebout,  Sr.,  and  John  Tie- 
bout,  Jr. 

Intelligent  study  of  the  requirements  of  the  marine  field,  com- 
bined with  a  policy  of  offering  only  the  best  quality  products  at 
the  lowest  prices  consistent  thereto,  have  commanded  such  univer- 
sal recognition  that  the  house  of  Tiebout  is  now  the  port  of  call  of 
seafaring  men. 

The  complete  range  of  all  kinds  of  marine  hardware,  fittings, 
joiner  equipment,  etc.,  combined  with  immediate  delivery  on  short 
notice,  has  stood  the  test  of  so  many  emergency  calls  that  it  has  be- 
come a  common  saying  among  men  using  marine  equipment,  "Go  to 
Tiebout  first." 

A  distinctive  feature  of  the  Tiebout  line  is  the  complete  assort- 
ment of  ship-finish  hardware  particularly  suitable  to  work  boats. 

For  those  desiring  assistance  in  the  selection  of  marine  hard- 
ware, fittings  and  supplies,  a  complete  illustrated  catalog  has  been 
prepared.     It  will  be  sent  upon  request  to  those  interested. 


—  283  — 


CHAS.  <D.  "DURKEE  &  CO. 

CHARLES  D.  DURKEE  &  COMPANY  succeeded  the  firm  of 
Rankin  &  Durkee  in  1893 — Rankin  &  Durkee  having  been  the 
successors  to  a  firm  established  about  one  hundred  years  ago 
in  the  ship  supply  business. 

When  Charles  D.  Durkee  &  Company  took  the  tiller,  the  firm 
was  located  at  26  South  Street,  near  Coenties  Slip.  The  business 
grew  each  year  under  the  direct  management  of  Charles  D.  Durkee 
and  William  H.  Durkee,  his  brother,  until  the  quarters  at  No.  9,6 
became  too  cramped  for  the  expanding  business  and  a  contract  was 
made  in  1899  for  the  building  of  the  present  home  of  the  Company 
at  2  and  3  South  Street.  The  building  was  completed  and  fixtures 
installed  by  November,  1899,  and  on  Thanksgiving  Eve,  1899,  the 
Company  gave  a  reception  and  opening  to  several  hundred  friends 
and  customers  and  the  Trade  in  general.  An  entertainment  was  fur- 
nished, a  dinner  served  to  over  five  hundred  diners,  and  dancing  was 
enjoyed  until  the  early  hours  of  Thanksgiving  morning. 

Active  business  started  in  the  splendid  store  and  building  on 
Januar}'  first,  1900,  and  the  business  kept  up  its  growth  and  in- 
creasing list  of  customers  right  up  to  the  late  war. 

When  the  war  started  the  firm  was  immediately  called  upon  to 
rush  equipments  for  submarine  chasers,  the  Emergency  Fleet  and 
Navy  orders.  They  received  which  to  that  time  was  the  largest 
single  order  ever  placed  in  the  Marine  hardware  line,  an  order  for 
twenty  thousand  portlights  for  the  equipment  of  the  550  85-foot 
submarine  chasers,  built  for  the  English  Government  by  the  Elco 
Company  of  Bayonne,  N.  J.  This  company  under  their  President, 
Mr.  H.  R.  Sutphen  did  what  was  thought  by  many  to  be  an  im- 
possible task.  The  building  of  these  550  chasers  in  500  days.  One 
of  the  historical  events  of  the  War,  and  which  Charles  D.  Durkee  & 
Company  felt  proud  to  have  had  a  hand  in  accomplishing.  The 
plant  was  kept  rushed  to  the  limit  during  the  War  with  government 
emergency  work  which  it  was  well  equipped  to  handle. 

In  November  1919,  Charles  D.  and  William  H.  Durkee  retired 
from  the  firm  and  the  business  is  now  under  the  active  management 
of  Mr.  Fred  H.  Fricke,  who  was  many  years  with  the  old  firm.  Mr. 
Fricke  is  assisted  by  Mr.  Henry  Blossy  and  many  employees  that 
served  their  time  with  the  old  firm,  and  all  are  working  together  to 
meet  the  adjustments  made  necessary  by  past  war  conditions. 


^       ^ 


—  284 


C.  T>.  MALLORY  &  CO.,  Inc. 

ONE  of  the  younger  companies,  comprised  of  "Old  Heads,"  at 
the  business  in  the  port  of  New  York,  is  ('.  I).  Mallory  & 
Co.,  Inc.  The  president  of  this  organization,  Mr.  Clifford  D. 
Mallory,  comes  of  a  family  long  associated  with  ship  operations 
and  shipbuilding  of  the  country,  and  spent,  what  might  be  termed 
an  apprenticeship,  with  the  Clyde-Mallory  interest. 

Associated  with  this  organization  as  vice-president,  is  Mr.  W. 
S.  Houston,  who  had  his  training  in  Scotland  and  Brazil,  and  for 
quite  a  period  in  the  United  States  prior  to  combination  of  his 
interests  with  those  of  Mr.  Mallory  in  the  formation  of  their  com- 
pany. 

Operators  for  quite  a  period  of  Shipping  Board  Tonnage,  being 
tramped,  world  wide,  their  business  has  developed  along  the  lines 
of  many  of  the  larger  shipping  organizations  of  the  United  King- 
dom ;  that  is,  they  are  essentially  managers  of  vessels.  This  phase 
of  their  business  principally  covers  the  activities  of  a  fleet  of  six 
tankers,  all  of  the  largest  size  and  latest  type,  with  which  they  are, 
engaged  in  transporting  oil  in  various  directions.  Further,  they 
are  managers  of  the  fleet  of  six  owned  and  chartered  tankers,  en- 
gaged in  the  transportation  of  molasses  and  oil  to  all  sections  of 
the  world.  The  centering  of  the  management  of  this  tonnage  with 
this  relative  newcomer  in  New  York  shipping  circles  means  certain 
development  of  allied  activities  ;  for  instance,  a  chartering  depart- 
ment with  prominent  connections  abroad  is  in  full  swing. 

The  company's  activity  has  called  for  establishment  of  several 
branch  houses  at  American  and  foreign  ports,  amongst  which  are 
included  Baltimore,  Norfolk,  New  Orleans,  Galveston,  Tampico,  and 
at  Glasgow  for  the  United  Kingdom,  and  Genoa,  Italy,  for  the 
Mediterranean. 

This  Company  representing,  as  New  York  agents,  many  out- 
port  shipping  operators,  are  experiencing  great  success  with  the 
homeward  business  of  the  Baltimore-Oceanic  Steamship  Co.,  which 
maintains  a  general  cargo  service  between  North  Atlantic  Ports  and 
Mediterranean  destinations.  The  careful  attention  displayed  in 
connection  with  this  inward  business  points  to  its  relatively  certain 
continuation,  and  the  visits  of  the  Baltimore-Oceanic  vessels  to  New 
York  means  better  service  to  fruit,  onion  and  general  cargo  re- 
ceivers. Incidentally,  considerable  disbursements  with  New  York 
houses  allied  with  the  shipping  industry  accrue. 

The  Company,  since  its  organization,  has  followed  a  policy  of 
conservatism,  marked  in  a  time  of  lavish  outlays  for  office  space, 
accessories  and  the  like,  and  has  devoted  its  entire  attention  to  busi- 

—  285  — 


XT 


XT 


T7 


.^x 


^/x 

in 


./x 

T7 


^«^>^^ 


Y7 


T7 


V7 


T7 


T7 


^ 


T7 


l^>^>^> 


LU 


T7 


rr 


T7 


EjfgjgaEsj 


ness  in  hand,  rather  than  to  "putting  up  a  front,"  and  based  on 
such  a  sound  principle  even  through  "hard  times"  can  report  satis- 
factory progress.  Its  slogan  since  its  inauguration  has  been,  and 
will  continue  to  be,  "First,  last  and  all  the  time,  Service.'''' 


BLACK  "DIAMOND  STEAMSHIP 
CORPORA  TION 

THE  BLACK  DIAMOND  STEAMSHIP  CORPORATION  is 
an  American  company  that  has  sprung  into  being  with  the  ad- 
vent of  the  new  merchant  marine.  It  is  a  company  that  has 
every  appearance  of  being  wisely  and  efficiently  managed,  and 
this  explains  the  success  with  which  it  is  weathering  the  slump  in 
freight  rates  which  has  so  seriously  affected  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  new  American  steamship  lines  and  has  proven  a  hardship  to 
a  number  of  the  old  ones. 

The  Black  Diamond  Steamship  Corporation  holds  its  charter 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  and  has  established  a 
cargo  liner  service  between  New  York  and  Antwerp  and  Rotter- 
dam, which  has  more  latterly  been  extended  to  the  ports  of  Hamp- 
ton Roads,  Philadelphia  and  Boston. 

While  comparatiely  young  this  company  has  been  built  on  a 
firm  foundation,  as  is  shown  by  the  rapidity  of  its  advance  to  a 
leading  position  in  the  trade  routes  it  now  covers,  operating  at 
the  present  time  a  fleet  of  steel  steamships.  The  Black  Diamond 
Steamship  Corporation  conducts  a  berth  business  between  Ameri- 
can ports  and  Antwerp  and  Rotterdam,  besides  which  it  charters 
ships  for  tramp  business  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  officers 
of  the  company,  to  whom  its  success  should  be  properly  attributed, 
are: 

J.  E.  Dockendorff ,  President ;  Lewis  Iselin,  Vice-President ;  F. 
E.  Huck,  Vice-President  and  Traffic  Manager ;  V.  J.  Sudman, 
Treasurer;  B.  A.  Harnett,  Operating  Manager;  S.  H.  Magrill, 
General  Freight  Agent. 

The  general  executive  offices  of  the  company  are  located  at  67 
Exchange  Place,  this  city.  In  addition  it  has  offices  at  Chicago, 
111.,  at  No.  35  North  Dearborn  St.,  and  in  Baltimore,  Md.,  at  30 
South  Calvert  St.,  Philadelphia  and  Norfolk. 


286 


CARIBBEAN  STEAMSHIP  CO..  Ltd. 

OF  THE  many  American  steamship  companies  that  came  into 
existence  during  the  War,  the  Caribbean  Steamship  Com- 
pany, Ltd.,  holds  a  unique  position.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
younger  companies  which  lias  established  itself  as  a  permanent  and 
important  factor  in  America's  merchant  marine. 

The  Company  was  founded  in  1915  by  Mr.  M.  G.  Casseres,  its 
directing  head.  It  commenced  operations  with  a  chartered  steamer 
of  1,100  tons  total  deadweight.  As  the  Company  met  with  success 
it  gradually  extended  its  activities  and  added  to  its  fleet.  Today 
it  operates  ten  modern  vessels,  maintaining  regular  line  services 
throughout  the  West  Indies,  the  north  and  wrest  coast  of  South 
America  with  connections  for  Central  America. 

Much  of  the  Company's  success  has  been  due  to  its  policy,  from 
its  inception,  of  confining  its  activities  exclusively  to  the  West 
Indies,  Central  and  South  America  thereby  firmly  intrenching  itself 
for  the  future  at  a  time  when  other  Lines  were  either  forced  to  sus- 
pend their  services  on  account  of  the  War,  or  wTere  attracted  else- 
where by  larger  profits. 

The  Caribbean  Line,  as  it  is  generally  known,  now  maintains  a 
regular  ten  day  service  from  New  York  to  Jamaica,  B.  W.  L,  east 
coast  Colombian  ports,  thence  passing  through  the  Panama  Canal 
to  the  west  coast  Colombian  ports  and  Ecuador,  connecting  at 
Cristobal  for  wrest  coast  ports  of  Central  America  and  Mexico. 
It  also  maintains  a  regular  fortnightly  service  from  New  York  to 
Trinidad,  B.  W.  I. ;  Venezuelan  ports ;  Curacao,  D.  W.  I. ;  and 
Santo  Domingo.  In  addition,  it  does  a  considerable  business  in 
the  transportation  of  full  cargoes  of  coal  and  sugar  to  and  from 
the  West  Indies. 

The  objects  of  its  founder  in  organizing  the  Caribbean  Line  was 
to  operate  services  from  the  United  States  to  every  principal  port 
in  the  Caribbean,  and  it  may  now  be  well  said  that  this  object  has 
been  fully  realized,  as  the  Company  now  serves  regularly  every  port 
of  any  importance  in  the  Caribbean  region,  even  extending  to  the 
Pacific. 

Much  credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Casseres,  whose  energy  and  persever- 
ance has  culminated  in  the  building  up  of  an  American  shipping  en- 
terprise which  has  won  for  itself  recognition  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pal carrying  factors  in  the  Caribbean  trade,  maintaining  a  high 
standard  of  service.  All  of  the  steamers  owned  by  the  Company 
fly  the  American  flag. 


T7        T7 


—  287  — 


THE  Y<BS£RRS£  LINE 

THE  firm  of  Ybarra  &  Company  was  founded  by  Don  Jose  Maria 
Ybarra,  sixty  years  ago,  having  at  that  time  two  steamers  of 

300  tons  each,  which  carried  passengers  and  freight  between 
Northern  and  Southern  Spanish  ports,  thereby  earning  the  name  of 
"Vasco  and  Andalusian  Line"  of  steamers.  Later  other  and  larger 
vessels  were  added  and  the  service  was  extended  so  that  weekly  sail- 
ings were  maintained  between  Bordeaux  and  Marseilles,  calls  being 
made  at  all  coast  ports  en  route. 

The  volume  of  business  grew  so  large  that  it  became  necessary 
to  build  more  vessels  of  a  type  especially  constructed,  embodying 
all  the  latest  devices  for  the  proper  handling  of  cargo  and  prompt 
loading  and  discharging.  These  vessels  were  so  well  received  and 
the  service  rendered  so  satisfactory  that  today  the  vessels  of  Ybarra 
&  Company  practically  control  the  coastwise  trade  of  Spain. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  World  War  YTbarra  &  Company  realized 
the  need  of  steamers  to  carry  to  the  United  States,  olives,  olive  oil 
and  other  Spanish  products,  placing  some  of  their  coasters  in  the 
service.  These  vessels  became  well  known  to  American  exporters, 
who  gave  the  line  such  good  support  that  four  boats  of  a  type 
adapted  to  this  trade,  two  of  6,500  tons  and  two  of  6,000  tons  were 
built,  and  now  maintain  semi-monthly  service.  At  the  inaugura- 
tion of  this  service  the  line  became  known  to  shippers  as  the  "Ybarra 
Line"  and  has  since  been  so  called. 

Realizing  the  fact  that  very  few  piers  in  the  port  of  New  York 
were  capable  of  handling  the  class  of  cargo  carried,  space  was 
secured  in  Erie  Basin  and  a  shed  erected  to  care  for  this  kind  of 
cargo.  Here  all  facilities  are  given  to  importers  for  the  proper  ex- 
amining, reconditioning  and  rebrining  and  any  other  accommodation 
that  might  be  needed,  and  it  is  on  this  account  that  the  olive  and 
olive  oil  shippers  from  Spain  prefer  the  Ybarra  Line. 

The  Company  is  still  providing  added  service  for  shippers  to 
.'nd  from  Spain,  by  the  fact  that  they  are  building  three  new  vessels, 
the  first  of  which  is  to  be  the  Steamship.  Cabo  Roche,  of  about 
5.000  tons,  due  here  about  January,  1922,  and  to  be  followed  by 
two  other  boats  of  similar  class.  The  entire  fleet  of  Ybarra  &  Com- 
pany consists  of  thirty-three  steamers. 

Ybarra  &  Company  are  represented  in  the  United  States  by 
Briones  &  Company,  Inc.,  with  offices  at  25  Beaver  Street,  New 
York  City. 


^ 


288  — 


THEODORE  $$.  CRANES 
SONS  COMPANY 

THE  firm  of  Theodore  A.  Crane's  Sons  Company,  established  in 
1867,  has  rapidly  grown  and  at  the  present  time  it  is  the 
fourth  largest  ship  repair  plant  in  the  Port  of  New  York.  The 
plant  consists  of  four  floating  drydocks  with  a  capacity  of  from 
one  to  twelve  thousand  gross  registered  tons,  covering  approximately 
twenty-four  acres  in  the  heart  of  the  Erie  Basin  section,  South 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  Its  complement  of  machine,  boiler,  blacksmith 
and  carpenter  shops  tend  to  make  the  plant  one  of  the  best  equipped 
repair  yards  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  The  newest  addition  to  their 
machine  shop  is  the  installation  of  a  new  fifteen-foot  Vertical  Boring 
Mill. 

The  facilities  for  executing  turbine,  reciprocating  engines,  boiler 
and  hull  repairs  to  steel  and  wooden  vessels  are  such  as  to  insure  the 
operators  and  owners  prompt  dispatch.  The  capacity  of  the  yard  is 
such  that  it  will  accommodate  twenty  or  more  vessels  undergoing 
repairs  at  the  same  time. 

The  new  drydock,  consisting  of  four  sections,  will  accommodate 
vessels  up  to  480  feet  in  length.  There  is  26  feet  of  water  over  a  5 
foot  block  at  any  tide.  This  drydock  was  built  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  the  Crane  brothers  at  the  plant  in  Erie  Basin.  Con- 
structed of  specially  selected  long  leaf  Yellow  Pine  and  Oak,  white 
pine  wedged,  electrically  operated,  it  is  capable  of  lifting  its  maxi- 
mum haul  at  the  rate  of  a  foot  a  minute.  It  is  the  third  largest  dry- 
dock  in  the  Port  of  New  York. 

Since  their  establishment,  Theodore  A.  Crane's  Sons  Company 
have  made  a  specialty  of  building  harbor  craft  such  as  lighters, 
barges,  scows  and  tugboats.  This  is  in  addition  to  their  repair 
work.  The  Yard  is  known  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  Port  for  repairs 
to  wooden  hulls  of  all  kinds.  They  built  the  first  knockdown  barges 
ever  shipped  from  this  port  for  service  on  the  West  Coast  of  South 
America,  building  them  so  that  they  could  be  knocked  down  and 
re-assembled  at  their  destination. 

The  executive  and  supervisory  force  consists  of  men  well  schooled 
in  the  shipbuilding  and  repair  industry.  During  the  world  war  some 
of  the  largest  contracts  let  by  the  government  were  executed  in  this 
yard. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are  Mr.  Alfred  M.  Crane,  President 
and  General  Manager;  Mr.  Jonathan  Moore,  Vice  President;  Mr. 
George  W.  McKenzie,  Secretary ;  Mr.  Walter  D.  Crane,  Treasurer. 
Their  New  York  office  is  located  in  the  Cunard  Building  at  25  Broad- 
way. Their  agents  for  the  United  Kingdom  are  Messrs.  Crichton, 
Thompson  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  of  Liverpool,  England. 

—  289  — 


THE  HOBOKEN  LAND 
AND  IMPROVEMENT  COMPANY 

A  NUMBER  of  years  ago  a  gentleman — by  name  John  Stevens 
— looked  across  the  Hudson  River  from  Manhattan  Island  and 
the  first  thing  that  struck  him  was  the  high  rocky  cliffs  of 
Hoboken  and  he  thought  these  would  be  natural  barriers  that  would 
make  Hoboken  an  ideal  spot  fit  for  country  residences  of  the  rich 
New  Yorkers  and  a  quiet,  restful,  recreation  ground  where  the  tired 
multitude  of  crowded  Manhattan  Island  would  find  health  and 
comfort. 

He  purchased  practically  all  of  Hoboken  and  settled  his  family 
on  what  is  known  as  Castle  Point.     That  was  in  1784. 

In  1833  John  C.  Stevens,  Robert  L.  Stevens,  James  A.  Stevens, 
Edwin  A.  Stevens  (sons  of  the  above  named  John  Stevens)  and 
others  formed  a  corporation  called  the  Hoboken  Land  and  Improve- 
ment Company  to  manage  the  estate  of  the  Stevens  families  in  order 
to  make  improvements  and  restrict  building,  this  conception  is  shown 
in  the  old  town  layout ;  in  the  advertisement  for  sale  of  town  lots  ; 
and  in  the  restrictions  placed  in  the  agreements  for  sale  and  deeds 
of  lots.  This  Company  immediately  started  erecting  dwellings  of 
every  description  and  the  waterfront  lay  unsullied  in  all  its  virgin 
beauty  until  John  C.  Stevens  started  his  Perigau  (sailboat)  ferry 
from  the  foot  of  the  old  Philadelphia  Turnpike  (now  Newark  Street) 
and  later  by  his  horse  power  and  finally  steam  ferry  boats  of  the 
Hoboken  Ferry.  As  this  communication  with  Manhattan  became 
more  efficient  the  pleasant  village  of  Hoboken  grew  under  its  benign 
influence. 

The  first  real  improvement  came  when  Stevens  built  the  Morris 
and  Essex  Railroad,  bringing  it  into  Hoboken  through  the  old  Erie 
tunnel  on  trackage  rights  from  the  Erie. 

Next  came  the  building  of  a  pier  for  the  North  German  Lloyd 
Line  and  shortly  after  a  pier  for  the  Hamburg-America  Line. 

Stevens  also  contributed  a  famous  improvement  in  the  shape  of  a 
shipyard  where  he  built  and  rebuilt  the  ingenious  steam  floating 
battery  for  the  U.  S.  Government  and  also  built  all  of  the  steam 
ferry  boats  for  his  ferry  to  Barclay  and  Christopher  Streets,  New 
York. 

So  the  Stevens  family  made  Hoboken  and  today  are  still  making 
and  doing  for  Hoboken  through  the  Hoboken  Land  and  Improve- 
ment Company,  which  owns  and  controls  most  of  the  waterfront 
property,  factories,  private  dwellings,  semi-private  dwellings,  flats 
and  apartment  houses. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  large  improvements  which  have 
been  made  by  the  Hoboken  Land  &  Improvement  Company  on  the 
waterfront : 

—  290  — 


PALMER    CAMPBELL 

President  and  General  Manager  Hoboken  Land  and 
Improvement   Company 


m 


/z\ 


XJ 


/z± 


XJ 


XJ 


XJ 


£\ 


XJ 


/Zv 


V7 


M 


zi 


t7 


XJ 


XJ 


/Z\ 


XJ 


z^. 


XJ 


/n 


rjxi 


/3, 


XJ 


XJ 


M$\ 


Two  large  double  decked  piers  for  the  Holland  America  Line. 

One  1,000  foot  pier  for  the  Scandinavian  America  Line. 

Two  piers  built  by  the  Lamport  &  Holt  Line  on  land  owned  by 
this  Company. 

One  large  double  decked  pier  and  bulkhead  built  by  the  Eller- 
man's  Wilson  Line  Ltd.  on  property  owned  by  this  Company. 

The  Hoboken  Land  &  Improvement  Company  built  four  12-story 
concrete  buildings  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  built  to  con- 
nect the  Hoboken  waterfront,  industries  and  piers  with  direct  tracks 
to  all  trunk  lines — a  railroad  commonly  known  as  the  Hoboken 
Shore  Road. 

M&PRCUS  H.  TRACY 

CAPTAIN  TRACY  began  his  deep  sea  experience  at  the  age  of 
ten  years  with  his  father,  who  was  a  shipmaster.  Born  in  the 
State  of  Maine  with  a  long  line  of  seafaring  people  as  an  in- 
heritance, his  whole  life,  with  few  interruptions,  has  been  in  connec- 
tion with  the  sea.  As  President  of  Tracy  Steamship  Company  dur- 
ing the  activities  of  the  United  States  Shipping  Board,  this  Company 
became  Managers,  Operators  and  Agents  for  over  100  of  their  ships. 
He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Pilot  Commissioners  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1913  for  a  term 
of  two  years.  Has  been  re-elected  to  succeed  himself,  the  last  time 
in  October,  1921.  Early  this  year  he  succeeded  Captain  George  L. 
Norton  as  chairman  of  the  Board.  His  interests  in  maritime  mat- 
ters is  shown  in  various  activities,  among  them  being  chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Governors  of  the  New  York  State  Nautical  School. 

HOUL<DER,  WEIR  &  "BOYD,  Inc. 

FROM  very  small  beginnings  in  1901,  the  firm  of  Houlder,  Weir 
&  Boyd,  Inc.,  has  gradually  developed  until  it  is  now  one  of  the 
best  known  shipping  enterprises  in  New  York  City. 
The  Company  was  incorporated  as  a  New  York  corporation  in 
1907,    and    besides    an    extensive    chartering    connection    in    Great 
Britain,  Scandinavia  and  Japan,  represents  many  influential  regular 
Line  Services  in  the  Far  East,  River  Plate  and  Indian  Trades. 

They  have  recently  become  interested  in  the  American  Inter- 
coastal  Trade,  representing  the  well-known  American  shipowners, 
Messrs.  Crowell  &  Thurlow  of  Boston. 


292 


"PANAMA  (RAILROAD  STEAMSHIP 

LINE 

THE  PANAMA  RAILROAD  STEAMSHIP  LINE  is  the 
designation  of  the  steamship  service  inaugurated  by  the 
Panama  Railroad  Company  in  the  early  part  of  1893.  Its 
fleet  consists  of  eight  freight  and  passenger  steamships  of  American 
registry,  with  a  deadweight  capacity  of  65,000  tons,  operated  from 
New  York ;  and  two  steamships  and  two  barges,  of  a  deadweight 
capacity  of  44,000  tons,  operated  in  the  coal  service  between  Hamp- 
ton Roads  and  the  Canal  Zone. 

The  service  from  New  York  consists  of  weekly  departures,  stop- 
ping at  Haiti  on  the  outward  and  homeward  trips,  and  a  monthly 
service  to  the  West  coast  ports  of  Colombia  and  Ecuador  as  far 
South  as  Guayaquil. 

The  Panama  Railroad  Company  is  a  corporation  organized  under 
the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  inaugurated  this  steamship 
service  in  1893  as  a  feeder  for  the  Panama  Railroad,  which,  operat- 
ing across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  was  engaged  in  the  transporta- 
tion of  cargo  and  passengers  originating  in  Europe,  and  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States,  destined  to  ports  on  the  West 
coast  of  South  America,  Central  America,  Mexico  and  the  United 
States,  and  vice  versa;  it  being  at  that  time  the  only  trade  route 
between  the  United  States  and  Central  and  South  America  other 
than  the  Cape  Horn  and  Straits  of  Magellan  routes. 

The  stock  control  of  the  Panama  Railroad  Company  was  secured 
by  the  French  Panama  Canal  Company  in  the  early  eighties,  and, 
when  the  Government  of  the  United  States  purchased  the  assets  of 
the  French  Panama  Canal  in  1903  in  anticipation  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  present  Panama  Canal,  among  those  assets  was  the  stock 
control  of  the  Panama  Railroad  Company,  and  its  steamship  line. 
This  naturally  placed  the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  the 
position  of  operating  its  first  railroad  and  its  first  steamship  line. 
The  Government  now  owns  all  the  capital  stock  of  the  Panama 
Railroad  Company,  which  includes  the  ownership  of  the  Panama 
Railroad  Steamship  Line,  and  operates  the  corporation  under  its 
charter  from  the  State  of  New  York,  through  a  Board  of  Directors 
selected  by  the  Secretary  of  War. 

The  operation  of  the  Panama  Railroad  Steamship  Line  on  a 
regular  and  dependable  schedule  has  been  of  inestimable  benefit  to 
the  development  of  American  commerce  with  ports  in  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  and  the  West  coast  of  Central  and  South  America  and  Mexico, 
and  contributed  in  no  small  measure  to  the  successful  completion  and 
satisfactory  operation  and  maintenance  of  the  Panama  Canal.  It 
is  a  record  of  steamship  operation  that  is  a  credit  to  the  American 
Merchant  Marine. 

—  293  — 


NEW  YORK  CANAL  AND  QREAT 
LAKES  CORPORATION 

THE  "GREEN  FLEET"  is  the  adopted  trade  name  for  the 
New  York  Canal  and  Great  Lakes  Corp.,  fleet  of  boats  pur- 
chased from  the  War  Department  in  June,  1921,  consisting 
of  84  vessels,  comprising  fifteen  500  H.  P.,  twin  screw,  oil  fuel  steam- 
ers, capable  of  handling  450  tons  of  cargo;  thirty-six  barges  with- 
out power,  capable  of  handling  about  750  tons  of  cargo;  two  oil 
tank  barges  for  fuel  purposes,  all  of  the  foregoing  steel  construction, 
150  feet  long,  20  feet  beam,  12  feet  depth  of  hold,  and  three  new, 
wooden  barges  of  the  same  size,  dimensions,  and  cargo  capacity  as 
the  steel  barges.  The  balance  of  the  fleet  consists  of  various  sundry 
boats,  for  which  special  service  has  not  as  yet  been  assigned. 

This  fleet  cost  the  Government,  all  complete,  $3,694,000.00,  and 
has  largely  been  overhauled  by  the  new  owners  and  given  100% 
employment  from  the  2nd  of  July  to  the  closing  of  navigation.  It  is 
the  only  fleet  of  boats  on  the  canal  independent  of  tug  boats,  and 
can,  in  addition  to  their  own  fleet,  provide  power  for  towing  canal 
boats  operated  in  competition  with  them  and  for  classes  of  barges 
engaged  in  canal  and  river  transportation. 

When  one  considers  what  the  old  Erie  Canal  did  for  the  New 
York  State  in  the  upbuilding  of  thrifty  towns  and  communities,  it  is 
difficult  to  predict  the  vast  possibilities  of  the  present  barge  canal 
when  existing  facilities  are  utilized,  not  to  mention  the  vast  volume 
of  business  that  could  be  profitably  handled  if  suitable  equipment 
was  operated  for  the  business  available  along  the  canal  banks ;  not 
to  mention  the  traffic  originating  in  foreign  countries  along  our 
own  coast  and  destined  to  lake  ports  and  Canadian  ports  of  con- 
sumption. 

The  "Green  Fleet"  has  actually  made  in  the  first  four  months  of 
its  operation  a  phenomenal  record,  not  alone  a  saving  to  the  shipper 
and  consignee,  but  actual  demonstrating  quick  and  dependable 
service  between  New  York  and  Buffalo  favorably  comparable  with 
the  railroad. 

The  old  Erie  mule  path  which  accomplished  such  wonderful  re- 
sults is  now  referred  to  as  the  narrow  gauge  route  compared  with 
the  modern  New  York  barge  canal  complete  at  a  cost  to  the  tax- 
payers of  New  York  State  of  about  $165,000,000.00,  with  modern 
electric  locking  machinery  and  equipment,  now  referred  to  as  the 
broad  gauge  route,  traversed  by  the  "Green  Fleet"  flyers,  making  a 
round  trip  from  New  York  to  Buffalo  and  back  in  record  time. 

The  beautiful  scenery  up  the  Hudson  and  along  the  entire  length 
of  the  canal  is  attracting  yachtsmen,  houseboats,  and  vacationists 
more  and  more  every  year  and  is  an  exceptional  and  economical  vaca- 
tion trip  for  the  entire  family. 

—  294  — 


THEODORE  E.  FERRIS 

WHEN  the  United   States   Government  wanted   and   needed   a 
naval  architect  of  unquestioned  ability  to  prepare  and  super- 
vise the  plans  for  the  great  fleet  of  merchant  ships  which 
it  undertook  to  build  during  the  Great  War,  it    was  Theodore  E. 
Ferris  who  was  called  to  Washington. 

Mr.  Ferris  comes  of  American  stock  and  was  born  in  Stamford, 
Conn.,  in  1872.  He  studied  in  and  was  graduated  from  the  public 
and  the  high  schools  there  and  later  went  to  the  Greenwich  Acad- 
emy, where  he  received  a  technical  and  general  education  and  train- 
ing. The  remaining  years  of  his  life  have  been  spent  in  the  ship- 
building industry,  which  he  learned  first  practically  and  then  theo- 
retically. He  went  first  to  work  in  a  shipyard  on  Long  Island  and 
there  became  acquainted  with  the  actual  labor  of  the  construction 
of  ships.  From  this  plant  he  went  to  that  directed  by  John  Roach 
at  Chester,  Pa.,  where  lie  was  introduced  to  the  study  of  drafting 
and  designing  vessels  for  the  coasting  and  deep  water  trade.  He 
gained  additional  knowledge  and  skill  in  several  of  the  largest  plants 
in  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia,  and  then  went  to  Chicago,  111.,  and 
Detroit,  Mich.,  where  he  widened  his  experience  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  typesi  of  vessels  which  ply  the  Great  Lakes. 

When  he  was  eighteen  years  old  Mr.  Ferris  entered  the  employ 
of  A.  Cary  Smith,  who  in  his  lifetime  was  recognized  as  one  of  the 
greatest  of  American  architects.  There  he  remained  six  years,  de- 
veloping his  knowledge  of  nautical  designing  and  participating  in 
the  drafting  of  steamboats  for  Long  Island  Sound  and  river  traffic 
as  well  as  in  the  planning  of  craft  for  pleasure.  In  1898  he  was 
made  chief  constructor  for  the  Townsend  and  Downey  Shipbuilding 
Company  at  Shooters  Island,  New  York,  now  the  Standard  Ship- 
building Company.  That  position  he  retained  several  years.  In 
1903  he  again  became  associated  with  Mr.  Smith,  but  this  time  as  a 
partner,  a  relationship  which  continued  until  Mr.  Smith's  death.  Mr. 
Smith  designed  the  New  York,  the  first  steam  pilot  boat,  for  the 
Sandy  Hook  pilots. 

Between  1910  and  1918,  Mr.  Ferris  designed  and  supervised  the 
construction  of  more  than  three  hundred  merchant  craft  and  pleas- 
ure boats  and  when  he  was  called  by  the  government  he  had  thirty 
vessels  in  process  of  building  for  freight  or  freight  and  passenger 
service  for  clients  in  addition  to  several  for  private  use.  The  value 
of  these  vessels  was  approximately  $20,000,000. 

Mr.  Ferris'  reputation  is  as  high  among  foreign  shipbuilders 
and  ship  operators  as  it  is  in  the  United  States,  for  his  work  is  well 
known  in  ports  abroad.  None  but  a  man  of  his  exceptional  executive 
ability  could  have  undertaken  and  successfully  accomplished  the  task 
of  properly  supervising  the  construction  of  a  thousand  ships,  as  he 
did  for  the  Emergency  Fleet  Corporation. 

—  295  — 


SUZUKI  &  COMPANY 

WHILE  Suzuki  &  Company  have  for  many  years  engaged  in 
the  steamship,  export,  and  import  fields,  their  interest  in  the 
Port  of  New  York  became  much  more  material  and  immedi- 
ate in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1918.  At  this  time  many  of  the 
largest  and  most  reputable  Japanese  steamship  owners  amalga- 
mated their  fleets  into  what  is  now  known  as  "Kokusai  Kisen  Kabu- 
shiki  Kaisha."  The  entire  fleet  was  entrusted  to  the  management 
and  operation  of  Suzuki  &  Company.  Messrs.  Kawasaki  Kisen 
Kaisha,  and  its  affiliation,  Kawasaki  Dockyard  Company,  both  of 
whom  are  internationally  known  as  owners  of  a  tremendous  fleet  and 
as  being  among  the  foremost  shipbuilders  of  the  world,  also  fol- 
lowed the  policy  of  Kokusai  Kisen  Kaisha  and  entrusted  their  vessels 
to  the  hands  of  Suzuki  &  Company.  From  1918  until  the  middle 
of  1919,  these  steamers  were  occupied  mainly  in  tramping  in  the 
Atlantic,  New  York  being  used,  up  to  the  middle  of  1919,  princi- 
pally as  a  port  of  discharge.  At  that  time,  with  the  depression  in 
tramp  freights,  Messrs.  Suzuki  &  Co.  sought  other  outlets  for  their 
fleet  of  over  one  hundred  large  modern  vessels.  Inasmuch  as  their 
primary  interest  naturally  lay  in  the  Orient,  a  Far  East  service  was 
decided  upon — with  New  York  as  the  basic  point.  The  result,  in 
service,  is  now  well  known  to  the  shipping  world.  Since  the  middle 
of  1919,  Messrs.  Suzuki  &  Company  have  sailed  approximately 
three  boats  each  month  from  New  York  to  Far  Eastern  ports. 

Besides  the  continual  sight  of  vessels  controlled  by  Suzuki  & 
Company  passing  in  and  out  of  the  harbor,  the  New  York  Shipping 
world  can  testify  to  the  activity  of  these  steamers  in  the  New 
York  tramp  market.  These  vessels  are  among  the  few  which  are 
worked  directly  in  New  York  without  control  from  London.  The 
effect  of  this  consideration  is  service  to  shippers — mainly,  of  course, 
to  shippers  of  complete  bulk  cargoes.  Upon  this  foundation  of 
Service,  the  names  of  Suzuki  &  Company,  Kokusai  Kisen  Kabushiki 
Kaisha,  Kawasaki  Dockyard  and  Kawasaki  Kisen  Kaisha  have  at- 
tained the  respect  equal  to  that  of  older  and  better  known  concerns. 
Inasmuch  as  the  entire  organization  believes  that  Service  is  the  first 
consideration  to  the  entire  "carrying"  world,  it  is  their  intention  to 
maintain,  as  in  the  past,  this  principle. 


W 

—  296  — 


STEPHEN  <D.  STEPHANIDIS 

STEPHEN  I).  STEPHANIDIS,  senior  men. her  of  the  firm  of 
Stephanidis,  Bcnas  &  Company,  of  21-24  State  Street,  New 
York  City,  has  become  a  strong  factor  in  maritime  affairs  since 
1916,  in  which  year  he  entered  business  for  himself.  Both  he  and 
his  partner,  John  M.  Benas,  were  born  in  Greece,  but  are  both  natur- 
alized citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Educated  at  Robert  College,  an  American  institution  in  Constan- 
tinople, Mr.  Stephanidis  arrived  in  America  in  1907.  Determined  to 
succeed,  he  studied  at  the  City  College  by  day  and  worked  as  a 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  librarian  by  night.  His  first  thought  was  to  practice 
law,  and  with  this  as  his  aim  he  commenced  a  course  at  the  New 
York  University ;  but  upon  reflection  he  decided  upon  a  commercial 
career,  whereupon  he  left  the  university  and  became  a  clerk  in  the 
office  of  the  Trunk  Line  Association,  where  he  advanced  to  a  posi- 
tion of  large  responsibility. 

During  this  time  he  also  was  acting  as  representative  of  the 
Greek  Line  at  Ellis  Island.  The  two  positions  afforded  him  an  op- 
portunity to  gain  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  immigration  branch 
of  the  shipping  business,  and  he  availed  himself  of  it.  With  this 
experience  as  part  of  his  assets,  he  formed  his  present  partnership 
with  Mr.  Benas,  who,  like  himself,  had  already  been  engaged  in  com- 
mercial pursuits  in  America. 

The  firm  is  managing  agents  for  the  Vigo  Steamship  Company,, 
operating  between  New  York  and  Italian  ports,  and  the  American 
Black  Sea  Line,  operating  between  New  York  and  Greece. 

It  was  Mr.  Stephanidis  and  his  associates  who  owned  the  steam- 
ship Algonquin,  which  was  destroyed  in  Germany's  submarine  war- 
fare as  directed  against  neutral  shipping,  and  this  act  by  Ger- 
many was  the  signal  for  the  momentous  declaration  at  Washington 
which  resulted  in  the  sending  of  our  vast  army  overseas.  Following 
the  loss  of  the  Algonquin  the  steamship  Vigo  was  acquired  by  Mr. 
Stephanidis,  and  the  line  which  he  controlled  was  named  after  this 
ship. 

The  American  Black  Sea  Line  inaugurated  its  service  to  Greece 
in  April,  1921,  with  the  sailing  of  the  U.  S.  liner,  Acropolis,  for- 
merly the  Kilpatrick  of  the  U.  S.  Transport  service.  She  has  been 
renovated  into  a  fast  liner,  carrying  1,200  passengers  plus  freight. 
A  fine  vessel  when  acquired,  Mr.  Stephanidis  has  made  her  over  into 
a  modern  floating  palace  and  prides  himself  that  the  third  class  steer- 
age accommodations  provided  are  a  veritable  revelation  in  ocean 
travel.  Daily  concerts  and  motion  pictures  have  been  arranged  for 
during  the  fifteen-day  trip  to  the  port  of  Piraeus ;  Constantinople  will 
be  made  in  seventeen  days,  and  Constanza  two  days  later.  Several 
other  palatial  steamers  are  soon  to  be  added  to  this  service. 

—  297  — 


THE  UNITED  AMERICAN  LINES 

THE  UNITED  AMERICAN  LINES,  so  far  as  name  is  con- 
cerned,   is    a  new    organization,    having    been    incorporated    in 

August,  1920.  It  represents,  however,  interests  which  have  been 
known  to  the  American  shipping  community  for  many  years,  and 
which  have  done  much  to  build  up  the  shipping  prestige  of  the  Port 
of  New  York. 

The  United  American  Lines  is  an  operating  company  owned 
jointly  by  the  American-Hawaiian  Steamship  Company  and  the 
American  Ship  and  Commerce  Navigation  Corporation.  The  fleets 
of  these  two  companies  aggregate  approximately  400,000  tons 
deadweight,  which  is  the  largest  single  operating  unit  of  privately 
owned  cargo  and  passenger  tonnage  under  the  American  flag. 

The  American-Hawaiian  Steamship  Company  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  in  the  development  of  the  modern  American  merchant 
marine.  For  more  than  twenty  years  it  has  maintained  services  to 
the  Pacific  Coast  and  to  Hawaii.  During  the  war,  and  since,  its 
vessels  have  been  engaged  in  European  trade  also.  The  fleet  now 
numbers  twenty-eight  cargo  vessels. 

The  American  Ship  and  Commerce  Navigation  Corporation, 
together  with  its  subsidiary,  The  Shawmut  Steamship  Company, 
was  a  development  of  the  war.  The  fleet  embraces  thirteen  cargo 
vessels  and  three  combination  third-class  passenger  and  cargo 
vessels.  The  latter  are  of  a  special  type,  and  because  they  give 
third-class  passengers  conveniences  hitherto  unknown  to  that  class 
of  travel,  they  have  been  called  "ships  of  democracy."  One  is  a 
converted  ex-German  liner;  the  other  two  were  designed  and  con- 
structed by  the  Merchant  Shipbuilding  Corporation,  of  Chester, 
Pa.,  and  are  the  first  of  their  type  built  in  America  or  operated 
under  the  American  flag.  They  are  operated  between  New  York 
and  Hamburg. 

U.  S.  &  A.  LINES,  Inc.— 
S$N  S£LL  AMERICAN  COMPANY 

THIS  Company  was  organized  on  August  22,  1898,  and  has 
been  in  constant  operation  since  that  time,  maintaining  a  service 
to  Australian  and  New  Zealand  ports.  Prior  to  the  opening  of 
the  Panama  Canal  all  steamers  proceeded  to  Australia  and  New 
Zealand  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  since  the  opening  of  the 
Panama  Canal  all  traffic  is  directed  through  this  waterway  to  New 
Zealand  and  Australia,  steamers  calling  at  frequent  intervals  at 
Suva,  New  Caledonia  and  Northern  Queensland  ports. 

A  service  has  also  been  maintained  from  New  York  to  South 
and  East  African  ports. 

—  298  — 


a     *s 

a    a    2. 
a    S*  3 


re 


re 

2.  o  ^'^  S" 

re  <i  a;  _+.  a 

a  ^    o    -C 

§  V  r  ^  - 

re  c    ~    a  a- 

s>  R     *     c, 

a  •«-  -*•  a  re 

o  a    *  *  ° 

~*  S    =r-  ^  a 

^  6-  ^   :?•■§ 

^  2  s  S  S 

-i    »  «.  »  a 

a  a    ^  a  ^a 

re  s  re  a  * 

a  &,  ~a  n 

'Q  «    a    **  2- 

re  *    S-a 


h: 


n 


Ob 

ft    ^a 

"■*  a   -*   ►•*.  a- 
co    *«    a    •     re 


a 


re 
a 


"■*  =0 

co  k^  re 

©  ©  I 

~  a  re 


©    a    «    a    s 

2.  re    fcC,^  ? 
a 
a-  a   co   »• 

^  r«  s 

a    re    a 

a   *»v"    a 

«   2  1?  SJ- 

co    s?    ~    re 

»»  2  ^  a, 


re 


re  ^    « 
a    re    <s 

a    2    «• 


►§"  a"  a£ 

co    re    re 


re 


cn 

X 
> 

> 


X 

X 
> 

« 
a 

o 
i 

> 


n 
> 

2 


25 


FURNESS,  WITHY  &  CO.,  Ltd. 

ALTHOUGH  a  British  steamship  company,  Furness,  Withy  & 
Company,  Ltd.,  is  very  closely  identified  with  the  development 
of  the  Port  of  New  York  as  the  greatest  commercial  harbor  in 
the  world.  From  the  early  eighties,  when  the  ships  of  Christopher 
Furness  &  Company  came  to  New  York  from  West  Hartlepool, 
England,  their  home  port,  until  the  present  day  when  the  organiza- 
tion, one  of  the  greatest  in  the  list  of  steamship  organizations,  sends 
its  ships  under  the  name  of  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd.,  to  all 
parts  of  the  world,  the  Furness  flag  has  been  a  familiar  sight  in  all 
navigable  tide  waters  of  the  globe. 

The  history  of  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd.,  synchronizes 
very  largely  with  the  life  of  the  late  Lord  Furness,  known  for  a  long 
period  as  Sir  Christopher  Furness.  He  was  prominent  in  the  affairs 
of  the  United  Kingdom  and  sat  for  two  terms,  aggregating  fourteen 
years,  in  the  House  of  Commons.  At  an  early  age  he  began  his 
career  as  a  shipowner,  under  the  style  of  Christopher  Furness  &  Com- 
pany, at  West  Hartlepool.  He  travelled  extensively  in  Sweden  and 
was  an  important  factor  in  developing  the  shipping  of  that  coun- 
try. Owing  to  his  ability  and  energy,  his  firm  steadily  expanded 
until,  in  1891,  it  amalgamated  with  the  shipbuilding  firm  of  Ed- 
ward Withy  &  Company,  of  West  Hartlepool,  under  the  present 
name  of  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd. 

At  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  late  Lord  Furness,  which  oc- 
curred in  1912,  the  firm  had  become  one  of  the  leading  shipping 
companies  of  Great  Britain  and  its  services  to  the  British  govern- 
ment during  the  war  received  generous  recognition.  Today  the  fleet 
of  Furness,  Withy  &  Company  comprises  the  enormous  figure  of 
750,000  gross  tons,  covering  174  steamers  either  owned  or  controlled 
by  the  firm.  Eighty  vessels  flying  the  Furness,  Withy  &  Company 
house  flag  were  torpedoed  during  the  war. 

From  1912  to  1914  the  late  Sir  Stephen  Furness  was  chairman 
of  the  company,  succeeding  Lord  Furness.  Upon  Sir  Stephen's 
death,  in  1914,  the  present  Lord  Furness,  son  of  the  founder  of  the 
compai^,  became  its  chairman  but  retired  in  1919,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Vice  Chairman,  Sir  Frederick  W.  Lewis,  Bart. 

Millions  of  tons  of  freight  are  annually  taken  in  and  out  of  the 
Port  of  New  York  by  steamers  of  the  Furness-Withy  fleet.  The 
acquisition  by  the  company,  in  August,  1916,  of  the  Prince  Line, 
Ihe  Furness-Withy  fleet  of  owned  and  controlled  tonnage  was 
brought  up  to  1,400,000  deadweight  tons,  the  Prince  Line  adding 
181,211  gross  tons  to  the  fleet  total,  while  the  acquisition  of  the 
remaining  interest  in  the  Johnstone  Line  brought  about  100,000 
gross    tons    more.      Other    absorptions   by    the    company    since    the 

—  300  — 


Pi 
u 

u 

17 

/Pi 

U 

\J 

-■   --  -■'  •- 

/  > 

u 

•6- 

it 

-e-e-g 

u 

L-/- 

^ 

^ 

war  were  23,500  gross  tons  from  Evan,  Thomas,  Radcliff  &  Com- 
pany, in  May,  1917,  and  the  Glen  Line  (James  Gardiner  &  Com- 
pany), with  63,355  gross  tons,  in  September  of  the  same  year. 
Later,  in  1919,  Furness,  Withy  &  Company  took  over  the  New 
York-Bermuda  service  of  the  Quebec  Steamship  Company. 

In  addition  to  these  lines  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd., 
owns,  controls  or  has  a  considerable  interest  in  Houlder  Brothers 
&  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  Houlder  Line,  Ltd. ;  Furness-Houlder  Argen- 
tine Lines,  Ltd. ;  The  Empire  Transport  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  Brit- 
ish Empire  Steam  Navigation  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  British  &  Argen- 
tine Steam  Navigation  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  Gulf  Line,  Ltd. ;  the  Lon- 
don-Welsh Shipping  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  Manchester  Liners,  Ltd. ; 
the  Norfolk  and  North  American  Steamship  Company,  Ltd. ;  the 
Neptune  Steam  Navigation  Company,  Ltd. ;  the  White  Diamond 
Steamship  Company,  Ltd.  (George  Warren  &  Company,  Ltd.)  ;  the 
Economic  Marine  Insurance  Company,  the  Tilbury  Coaling  Com- 
pany, the  Compagnie  Furness  (France)  and  the  Anglo-Eastem 
Shipping  Company,  Ltd.  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd.,  also 
has  departments  of  its  own  which  deal  with  chartering,  insurance, 
ships'  stores,  sales  and  purchases,  bunkering,  etc. 

A  huge  fleet  is  kept  in  service  between  practically  all  the  At- 
lantic ports  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  and  all  the  principal 
ports  of  Great  Britain.  There  are  also  services  to  Havre,  France, 
the  Levant,  South  Africa,  South  America,  the  Far  East,  etc. 

In  the  United  States  and  Canada,  Furness,  Withy  &  Company, 
Ltd.,  are  the  general  agents  of  the  Manchester  Liners,  Ltd.,  and 
the  Lloyd  Sabaudo  Line,  of  Italy,  for  both  its  passenger  and  freight 
services ;  freight  agents  in  New  York  of  the  Swedish-American  Line, 
the  Swedish-America-Mexico  Line  and  the  Transatlantic  Steam- 
ship Company,  all  of  Gothenburg,  Sweden.  They  are  also  the  gen- 
eral passenger  and  freight  agents  in  New  York  of  the  Quebec  Steam- 
ship Company. 

The  head  office  of  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd.,  was  trans- 
ferred, in  1917,  to  "Furness  House,"  Billiter  Street,  London,  E.  C.  3. 
The  company's  offices  in  Great  Britain,  aside  from  its  head  office  in 
London,  are  at  Liverpool,  Cardiff,  Middlesbrough,  Newcastle-on- 
Tyne,  Leith  and  Glasgow.  In  the  United  States  the  main  offices  are 
in  New  York,  in  a  building  specially  erected  for  the  company  and 
which,  like  the  home  office  in  London,  is  called  Furness  House.  It 
is  one  of  the  handsomest  structures  of  lower  New  York,  architec- 
turally, and  its  entrance  and  foyer  are  shown  to  visitors  to  New 
York  from  all  over  the  United  States,  because  of  its  beauty  and  rare 
artistry.      Other   offices   of   the   company   in   the  United   States   are 


301  — 


XX 
XT 


XX 

XT 


XX 

XT 


EEI 


^ 


tT 

ttkt 

jZ\ 


LU 


vTl 


XT 


XT 


YT 


XX1 

t71 


XX 
XT 


XX 


as 


XX 

T7 


located  in  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Newport  News  and  Nor- 
folk. 

The  American  offices  are  under  the  management  of  Mr.  H.  C. 
Blackiston,  Director  in  the  United  States  of  Furness,  Withy  &  Com- 
pany, Ltd.,  with  headquarters  at  Fumes s  House,  34  to  38  Whitehall 
Street,  New  York.  Offices  of  the  company  are  also  maintained  in 
Montreal,  Quebec,  St.  John,  New  Brunswick;  Halifax,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland.  Furness,  Withy  &  Company,  Ltd., 
also  have  affiliated  offices  in  Paris,  France,  and  Alexandria,  Egypt. 

HENRY  STEERS,  Inc. 

THE  name  of  Steers  has  been   solidly  built  into   the  historical 
structure  of  the  Port  of  New  York  by  many  feats  of  accom- 
plishment on  the  part  of  those  who  bear  and  have  borne  the 
name. 

It  was  the  grandfather  and  granduncle  respectively  of  Henry 
Steers  and  J.  Rich  Steers  of  the  present  well-known  firm  of  Henry 
Steers,  Inc.,  No.  17  Battery  Place,  who  built  the  famous  yacht 
America,  which,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Dick  Brown,  aided 
by  Captain  Comstock  as  mate  (both  Sandy  Hook  Pilots),  won  the 
International  cup,  now  known  as  the  America's  cup,  in  1851,  off 
the  Isle  of  Wight. 

The  old  Steer's  shipyard  was  located  at  the  foot  of  9th  Street 
and  the  East  River.  Henry  Steers,  father  of  the  present  Henry 
Steers,  received  his  early  education  as  shipbuilder  in  this  old  yard. 
After  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business  under  the 
able  guidance  of  his  father,  he  established  a  shipbuilding  plant  of  his 
own  in  1860  at  Greenpoint,  Brooklyn,  opposite  23rd  Street,  Man- 
hattan, where  he  built  a  great  many  steamers  and  yachts,  among 
them  being  ships  for  the  Pacific  Mail  Fleet ;  the  original  Rhode  Island 
and  Massachusetts  of  the  Fall  River  Line;  and  many  other  locally 
well  known  vessels.  The  sail  pilot  boat  George  Steers  was  one  of 
the  products  of  his  yard,  and  a  stauncher  nor  better  sailer  never 
cruised  the  waters  off  Sandy  Hook. 

The  present  firm  of  Henry  Steers,  Inc.,  was  established  in  189-4 
as  contracting  engineers.  The  business  of  the  concern  has  grown 
steadily  until  it  is  now  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  building  of  water- 
front improvements  in  this  country. 

The  old  Greenpoint  shipyard  is  still  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Henry 
Steers,  although  it  has  undergone  vast  improvements  since  the  old 
shipbuilding  days.  It  now  has  four  large  piers  and  warehouses  and 
is  known  as  the  Steers  Terminal  Company. 


—  302 


CAPTAIN  ROBERT  ^DOLLAR 

THE  house  flag  of  the  Dollar  Steamship  Company  is  known  in 
every  one  of  the  large  ports  touched  by  the  waters  of  the 
Pacific  and  its  founder,  Captain  Robert  Dollar,  is  known  to 
every  big  shipping  man  in  the  world  as  one  of  the  outstanding  fig- 
ures in  the  development  of  America's  foreign  trade.  To  all  he  is 
known  and  dearly  respected  as  the  dean  of  Pacific  Coast  shipping 
men. 

Although  the  Pacific  is  the  main  field  of  operations  for  the  Dol- 
lar Steamship  Company,  Captain  Dollar  maintains  offices  in  New 
York  and  is  largely  interested  in  many  enterprises  identified  with 
the  development  of  our  port. 

Born  in  a  Scottish  lumberyard,  of  very  poor  parents,  Captain 
Dollar  was  brought  by  his  father  to  Canada  at  an  early  age,  as  a 
motherless  lad.  Before  receiving  any  schooling  to  speak  of,  he  was 
hired  out  as  chore  boy  in  a  distant,  uncouth,  uncivilized  lumber  camp 
in  the  frozen  North.  The  life  was  hard,  but  it  made  a  man  of  him. 
Before  emerging  from  his  'teens  he  realized  that  he  must  acquire  some 
education  before  he  could  hope  to  get  on  in  the  world.  And  he 
meant  to  get  on.  An  unexpected  visit  by  the  manager  found  him 
practising  writing  and  figuring  on  birch  bark,  the  only  "paper" 
available.  This  led  to  his  being  given  all  the  bookkeeping  of  the 
camp — to  be  done  after  regular  working  hours,  however,  without 
extra  pay. 

After  experience  as  a  lumberjack  and  as  a  foreman,  during  which 
he  had  to  boss  an  army  of  men,  most  of  whom  were  as  uncouth  as 
their  environment,  young  Dollar  (having  saved  all  his  wages  except 
the  few  dollars  needed  to  keep  him  in  rough  clothing  and  to  cover 
his  precious  few  "incidentals")  decided  to  start  lumbering  on  his 
own  account.  He  had  mastered  every  phase  of  the  business  and  was 
getting  along  well  when — crash !  The  terrific  panic  caused  by 
"Black  Friday"  on  the  New  York  Gold  Exchange,  in  1873,  swept 
down  half  the  business  concerns  on  the  continent — young  Dollar's 
among  them. 

"Happy  and  lucky  is  the  young  man  who  fails  when  young,"  he 
was  told  by  a  veteran.     Dollar  did  not  grasp  his  wisdom  then. 

He  again  became  a  foreman,  worked  and  saved  until  he  paid  off 
every  dollar  of  his  debt,  and  then  began  accumulating  a  fresh  stock 
of  capital,  determined  to  fare  better  the  next  time  he  launched  out. 
He  delayed  action  until  he  felt  sure  he  had  garnered  enough  capital, 
and  this  time  no  panic  occurred  to  bowl  him  off  his  feet.  He  early 
saw  the  possibilities  of  exporting  lumber  to  Britain  and  opened  up 
a  large  and  profitable  trade.  As  his  ambitions — and  his  capital — 
expanded,  he  looked  for  fresh  fields  of  enterprise,  and  concluded  that 

—  303  — 


W 

u 

*G" 

"0* 

RFRS 


za 


t7 


A\ 


A 


YT 


A\ 


w 


.A 


W 


„A\ 


tr 


^ 


Y7 


AX 
17 


A\ 


\J 


mm 


the  greatest  undeveloped  market  for  timber  in  the  whole  world  was 
China.  To  China  he  went,  not  once  but  twice,  to  analyze  the  whole 
situation.     Then  he  moved  to  the  Pacific  forests. 

He  soon  discovered,  however,  that  it  was  one  thing  to  prepare 
lumber  for  the  market  and  another  thing  to  find  ships  to  transport 
it  across  the  Pacific.  Not  only  were  vessels  scarce,  but  the  freight 
rates  were  ruinous.  Why  not,  he  figured,  buy  ships  and  do  his  own 
transporting? 

His  first  tiny  vessel  paid  for  itself  in  the  first  year.  He  bought 
another  and  then  another. 

Today  his  steamships  thread  their  way  through  every  ocean, 
carrying  not  only  lumber  but  all  varieties  of  cargo,  many  of  which 
are  not  only  carried  but  bought  and  sold  by  him. 


COLUMBUS  MARINE 
CORPORATION 

THE  COLUMBUS  MARINE  CORPORATION  is  an  American 
Company  which  has  developed  within  the  last  few  years. 
The  Company  has  every  appearance  of  being  very  efficiently 
managed,  has  very  strong  backing,  and  has  been  successfully  weath- 
ering through   the   depression    of   business   which   has    so    seriously 
affected  many  concerns. 

The  Columbus  Marine  Corporation  is  chartered  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  Delaware  and  has  established  cargo  shipments  from 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  Ports  to  Mediterranean  and  Adriatic  Ports. 

While  the  Company  is  apparently  young,  it  has  built  up  an 
extensive  trade  and  represents  no  less  than  18  steamship  lines  be- 
tween Mediterranean  and  Adriatic  Ports  and  North  Atlantic  and 
Gulf  Ports. 

Besides  loading  steamers  on  berth,  they  also  charter  steamers 
for  tramp  business  to  all  ports  of  the  world. 

The  active  officers  of  the  Company  having  a  life-time  experience 
in  the  steamship  business  and  understanding  this  business  thor- 
oughly, explains  the  good  results  produced  by  this  Company. 

They  are  reputed  to  be  worthy  of  the  confidence  their  friends 
have  in  them,  which  is  becoming  stronger  as  time  goes  on. 


301  — 


DANIEL  F.  LEARY 


DANIEL  F.  LEAHY,  of  the  D.  F.  Leary  Co.,  steamship  agents 
and  brokers,  located  at  45  Pearl  Street,  while  one  of  the 
younger  men  of  the  shipping  world  is  also  one  of  the  most 
progressive.  During  the  fourteen  years  of  his  activity  in  the  ship- 
ping field  he  has  handled  many  ships,  as  agent  or  broker,  to  and  from 
all  the  leading  ports  of  the  world. 

Starting  with  the  general  United  States  agency  for  the  Norway 
Mexico  Gulf  Line,  Ltd.,  he  eventually  undertook  the  agency  for  the 
Seeberg  Steamship  Line,  Inc.  Mr.  Leary  took  a  very  active  part  in 
the  successful  handling  of  the  vessels  of  these  lines. 

Subsequently,  he  and  his  associates  became  the  United  States  and 
Canadian  agents  for  Messrs.  Brys  &  Gylsen  and  their  affiliated  com- 
panies, who  operated  tramp  cargo  steamers  from  United  States  ports 
to  all  ports  of  the  world.  Mr.  Leary  handled  all  the  details  of  secur- 
ing freights  and  cargoes  for  these  steamers  from  different  Atlantic 
Coast  ports. 


TOYO  KISEN  KAISHA 

ONE  of  the  noted  events  in  the  marine  history  of  Japan  was  the 
organization  of  the  Toyo  Kisen  Kaisha  in  July,  1896,  by  Mr. 
Soichiro  Asano  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Y.  Shibuzawa  and 
other  well  known  business  men  of  Japan. 

The  initial  capital  of  the  company  was  yen  6,500,000,  which  has 
been  increased  as  the  business  of  the  company  expanded,  until  at  the 
present  time  it  is  yen  32,500,000,  of  which  yen  22,750,000  is 
paid  up. 

The  company  owns  a  fleet  of  nineteen  modern  passenger  and 
freight  vessels,  aggregating  a  gross  tonnage  of  155,682  and  operates 
fast  lines  of  service  between  the  Orient  and  all  the  principal  ports 
on  the  west  coast  of  North  and  South  America,  as  well  as  a  regular 
service  between  the  Orient  and  New  York,  via  the  Panama  Canal. 

The  main  office  of  the  company  is  in  Yokohoma,  Japan,  with 
agencies  and  branch  offices  in  all  the  large  ports  of  the  world.  The 
New  York  Office  is  located  at  165  Broadway. 


305  — 


THE  MERRITT  &  CHAPMAN 
DERRICK  &  WRECKING  CO.,  Inc. 

THE  history  of  this  Company  dates  back  to  1860,  when  Captain 
I.  J.  Merritt  was  engaged  in  the  salvage  business  as  represen- 
tative of  the  Underwriters,  and  was  practical  head  of  the 
Coast  Wrecking  Company. 

The  Merritt  Wrecking  Organization  was  formed  in  1880,  and 
merged  with  the  Chapman  Derrick  Company  in  1897,  forming  the 
Merritt  &  Chapman  Derrick  &  Wrecking  Co.,  Inc.,  the  largest  con- 
cern of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

A  fleet  of  sea-going  salvage  vessels,  especially  equipped  with  a 
complete  assortment  of  modern  salvage  appliances  and  special  tools, 
is  maintained  by  the  Company  at  various  bases  ready,  at  a  moment's 
notice,  to  respond  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night  to  calls  from  vessels 
stranded  along  the  coasts,  or  otherwise  in  distress  at  sea.  Prompt 
despatch  being  of  vital  importance,  their  office  is  open  day  and 
night.  Each  vessel  carries  in  addition  to  its  regular  crew,  a  com- 
plement of  skilled  men  known  as  the  "Salvage  Crew,"  consisting  of 
Salvage  Expert,  Foremen,  Engineers,  Divers,  Wreckers,  Black- 
smiths and  Carpenters ;  all  experts  in  applying  their  individual 
trades  to  the  salvage  business  through  years  of  experience — many 
of  them  having  been  in  the  Company's  employ  for  upwards  of  thirty 
years. 

The  Merritt  &  Chapman  service  for  the  protection  of  shipping 
covers  the  U.  S.  Atlantic  Coast  from  Newfoundland  to  Florida,  as 
well  as  the  waters  of  the  West  Indies,  Caribbean  Sea  and  Gulf  of 
Mexico ;  and  millions  of  dollars  are  saved  yearly  for  shipowners  and 
underwriters  by  this  Company's  operations. 

Not  only  is  this  service  important  and  valuable  to  shipowners 
and  underwriters,  but  it  is  a  benefit  to  the  port  of  New  York,  as 
most  of  the  vessels  saved  by  this  Company  are  brought  to  New 
York  for  delivery  to  the  owners,  and  many  of  them  are  repaired 
and  reconditioned  in  the  shipyards  here. 

This  Company  also  maintains  a  fleet  of  about  thirty  (30)  large 
floating  derricks,  five  (5)  derrick  propellers,  also  harbor  tugs,  most 
of  which  are  located  in  the  Port  of  New  York.  These  derricks  are 
capable  of  lifting  from  75  to  250  tons,  and  the  derricks  Monarch 
and  Colossus  are  the  largest  and  most  powerful  of  their  kind  in  ex- 
existence. 

The  main  office  of  the  Company  is  located  in  New  York  City  at 
17  Battery  Place  with  branches  at  Norfolk,  Va. ;  Philadelphia,  Pa.; 
Baltimore,  Md. ;  Key  West,  Fla.,  and  Kingston,  Jamaica,  B.  W.  I. 


—  306 


-s    a-  a- 

5    o   n 

ti   <■*. 

H 

3     -J  ,~i 

X 

"a   to 

W 

a_  ■—  ^ 
2.  a    -s 

2 

to    ft-  o 

^ -> 

ft-  t^     s 

5* 

—  ►>« 

^    o 

^^« 

s    „.  © 

«J 

S-               6s 
TO       v     '     ft- 

o 

PS 

-■s  s. 

w 

led  d 

vorld 

0 

ps 

2   3' 

o 

V.'          TO 

ha 

O 

i—.^ 

T! 

*         c~* 

i— i 

3-  TO 
o    a* 

w 

a    ^ 

pa 

PS 

h- 1 

-+.  a 

H 

to"^: 

H 

ft*§ 

8= 

to    J* 

3    to 

n 

-^.  to 

TO     -s 

K 

ft-  ? 

> 

►a 

~   ST 

> 

51 

TO     fs 

0 

C-*l 

i— i 

5*      SXj 

< 

TO 

w 

e-    ^tj 

so 

a   -* 

ai 

.""*    o 

^    3 

to    « 

6s      _ 

WHITLOCK  CORDAGE  COMPANY 

IN  THE  year  1825,  at  Elizabethport,  N.  J.,  Sidney  B.  Whitlock 
founded  the  business  which  has  since  developed  into  the  Whit- 
lock Cordage  Company,  manufacturers  of  Manila  and  Sisal  rope 
and  twine.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  for  nearly  a  hundred  years  the 
Whitlock  family  has  been  making  rope  for  sailors. 

When  the  Elizabethport  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  early 
nineties,  a  new  company  was  formed  by  Mr.  W.  P.  Whitlock.  It 
was  not  until  1905,  however,  after  the  present  modern  plant  had 
been  completed  at  Jersey  City,  that  his  associates  finally  persuaded 
Mr.  Whitlock  that  they  had  at  last  perfected  the  rope  which  he 
was  willing  to  have  marketed  under  his  own  name.  He  realized  that, 
to  succeed,  such  a  brand  must  not  only  be  as  good  as  the  very  best 
of  those  with  which  it  must  compete,  but  also  a  little  better. 

The  result  is  Whitlock  Manila,  a  rope  well  known  to  sailormen, 
wherever  American  ships  plow  the  seven  seas. 

The  present  up-to-date,  thoroughly  equipped  factory  in  Jersey 
City  has  direct  rail  connection  for  receiving  raw  materials  and 
shipping  finished  rope.  The  New  York  ferries  are  within  easy 
reach,  and  local  deliveries  are  speedily  made  by  a  fleet  of  motor 
trucks. 

The  impression  a  visitor  receives  of  the  Whitlock  mill  is  one 
of  cleanliness.  He  approaches  the  main  group  of  buildings  along 
walks  bordered  by  lawns  and  flowers.  With  plenty  of  open  space 
on  all  sides — a  city  park  bounds  the  front  of  the  property — there 
is  a  sense  of  fresh  air  and  healthfulness  about  the  place. 

For  the  manufacture  of  Whitlock  Manila  rope,  very  high  grade 
Manila  Hemp  is  imported  from  the  Philippines  in  bales  averaging 
275  pounds.  The  hemp  is  carefully  selected,  then  passed  through 
a  series  of  machines  which  comb  and  straighten  out  the  fibres.  Next 
it  goes  through  a  similar  process  on  a  smaller  scale  which  finally 
reduces  it  to  a  smooth  stream  of  hemp  called  a  "sliver,"  and  is 
ready  for  spinning. 

After  the  yarn  is  spun  it  is  formed  into  the  strands  which  make 
up  all  sizes  of  rope.  Usually  this  rope  is  three-strand,  but  it  may 
be  four-  or  six-strand,  according  to  the  work  to  which  it  will  be 
put  aboard  ship.  Since  larger  rope  must  be  easily  handled  for 
splicing,  etc.,  the  lay  often  needed  is  soft,  but  for  regular  marine 
use,  medium  or  regular  lay,  three-strand,  is  considered  best. 

The  Whitlock  Company  guarantees  that  Whitlock  Manila  Rope 
is  superior  in  every  respect  to  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Standards  Spe- 
cifications, not  only  in  strength,  length  per  pound,  and  tare,  but  also 
in   quality   of   fibre.      And    the   necessity    for   a   rope-user   knowing 

—  308  — 


y\ 


\7 


XJ) 


,/  \ 


,.'  \. 


\/ 


/-\ 


w 


M 


XJ 


XJ 


\  f 


XJ 


/  -., 


17 


/  \ 


XJ 


/  <. 


XJ 


/  . 

u 

XJXJ 

M&\ 


exactly  what  quality  Manila  fibre  has  been  used  in  making  the  rope 
he  buys  cannot  be  overestimated,  for  good  rope  cannot  be  manu- 
factured from  poor  Manila  hemp — and  there  are  over  twenty 
grades  of  fibre  which  the  rope  manufacturer  may  choose. 

When  a  sailorman  trusts  his  life  to  a  rope,  he  can  afford  to 
take  no  chances,  and  never  willingly  does  so — which  is  partly  the 
reason  for  the  continued  and  ever-growing  success  of  this  able  maker 
of  Marine  Cordage.  Any  reader  of  this  book  is  cordially  invited  to 
visit  the  Whitloek  Mill  and  there  see  for  himself  with  what  skill 
and  care  Whitloek  Manila  rope  is  built. 


THE  OSAK&?  SHOSEK  KAVUSHIKI 

KAISHA 

{Osaka    ^Mercantile   Steamship    Co.,    Ltd.) 

THIS  Company,  equipped  with  a  capital  of  Yen  100,000,000\. 
and  a  fleet  of  over  468,000  tons  gross,  is  now  conducting 
about  50  regular  services  making  important  commercial  high- 
ways of  the  world,  the  total  length  of  which  reaching  more  thaw 
240,000  nautical  miles.  When  the  comparatively  short  period  of 
the  Company's  existence  is  remembered  and  also  its  modest  begin- 
ning, the  progress  it  has  made  is  marvellous.  It  was  established  in 
1884  with  a  capital  of  only  yen  1,200,000  and  with  a  fleet  of  steam- 
ers having  an  aggregate  tonnage  of  17,000,  the  total  miles  covered 
by  the  lines  of  services  was  not  more  than  8,500,  practically  con- 
fined to  the  western  half  of  the  Empire.  During  the  thirty-seven 
years  that  followed  its  establishment  it  has  encountered  many  diffi- 
culties, but  has,  by  pursuing  a  steady  and  progressive  policy,  over- 
come every  obstacle,  which  is  in  itself  an  eloquent  testimony  to  the 
remarkable  development  of  the  water-transport  business  in  Japan. 

During  the  thirty-seven  years  of  its  existence  the  company  has 
steadily  expanded  its  field  of  operations  until  at  the  present  time 
it  operates  a  fleet  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-seven  vessels  with  a 
total  gross  tonnage  of  468,703.  Fifty  lines  of  service  are  operated1 
to  the  ports  of  North  and  South  Europe,  the  United  States,  India^ 
Australia,  South  America,  the  South  Seas  and  China. 

The  head  office  of  the  Company  is  in  Osaka,  Japan,  with  branches, 
in  all  the  principal  parts  of  the  world.  The  New  York  office  is 
located   in  the  Woolworth   Building. 


—  309  — 


MITSUI  &  CO.,  Ltd. 

MITSUI  &  CO.,  LTD.  (Mitsui  Bussan  Kaisha,  Ltd.)  with  an 
authorized  capital  of  ¥100,000,000,  or  approximately 
$50,000,000  was  organized  by  Mitsui  families  in  1909,  as  the 
successor  to  the  firm  bearing  the  same  name  which  was  one  of  the 
pioneer  concerns  in  Japan  engaged  in  the  export  and  import  busi- 
ness and  today  it  constitutes  one  of  the  three  direct  undertakings  of 
the  same  family,  the  remaining  two  being  the  Mitsui  Bank,  Ltd., 
capitalized  at  ¥100,000,000,  or  $50,000,000  and  the  Mitsui  Min- 
ing Co.,  Ltd.,  with  a  capital  of  ¥100,000,000  or  $50,000,000. 

The  history  of  the  Mitsui  families  dates  back  nearly  three  cen- 
turies when  they  established  an  exchange  house,  developing  gradu- 
ally into  a  private  bank  of  considerable  importance,  and  with  the 
opening  of  Japan's  doors  to  the  world  in  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, they  organized  one  of  the  first  modern  banks  in  Japan.  Simul- 
taneously the  firm  of  Mitsui  &  Co.  was  organized  to  engage  in  gen- 
eral export  and  import  business. 

Today  Mitsui  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  or  Mitsui  Bussan  Kaisha,  Ltd.,  as  it 
is  known  in  the  Orient,  is  one  of  the  most  important  business  factors 
in  the  Far  East,  while  its  position  is  no  less  important  in  the  United 
States  and  Europe.  Its  extensive  business,  in  almost  every  kind  of 
commodity,  literally  from  a  pin  to  a  locomotive,  is  carried  on  through- 
out the  world  with  more  than  70  branch  offices  located  at  all  large 
business  centers  of  the  globe. 

It  also  conducts  a  shipping  business,  owning  twenty-seven  ocean- 
going and  coastwise  vessels,  whose  deadweight  tonnage  aggregates 
nearly  140,000  tons,  besides  numerous  tugs,  lighters,  extensive 
wharves  and  warehouse  accommodations  at  the  principal  ports  in  the 
Far  East. 

This  company  also  established  a  shipbuilding  yard  in  1918  at 
Tama  on  the  inland  sea  of  Japan,  between  Kobe  and  Moji.  The 
works  cover  an  area  of  293  acres,  and  are  equipped  with  4  building 
berths.  There  are  also  two  dry  docks,  the  larger  one  of  which  is 
480  ft.  long  and  74  ft.  wide,  and  is  able  to  accommodate  steamers  of 
15,000  deadweight  tons.  This  yard  is  equipped  with  the  most  mod- 
ern machinery  for  shipbuilding,  and  also  for  repairs  of  every  descrip- 
tion and  engages  in  constructional,  electrical  and  mechanical  engi- 
neering. It  also  maintains  one  salvage  boat  at  the  shipbuilding  yard, 
which  is  available  in  Far  Eastern  waters  on  shortest  notice. 

During  the  last  war,  two  American  Government  steamers,  S.  S. 
Eastern  Importer  and  Eastern  Exporter,  of  9,000  deadweight  tons 
each,  were  constructed  in  this  yard. 

—  310  — 


S.  O.  STRA  Y  &  COMPANY 

THE  firm  of  S.  0.  Stray  &  Company,  Inc.,  was  established  in  the 
year  1866  in  the  City  of  Christianssand  S,  Norway. 

The  business  was  started  with  the  purchase  of  the  Bark 
Veritas  of  about  390  tons  net  register,  since  when  the  company  con- 
tinued to  add  sailing  ships  to  their  fleet  from  year  to  year,  until  the 
company  was  known  as  one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  sailing  ship 
owners  in  Norway.  Their  ships  traded  all  over  the  world,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  United  States.  They  purchased  their  first  steamer,  the 
"Snorre"  in  1904.  In  1906  Mr.  Emil  Stray,  grandson  of  Mr.  Sven 
().  Stray,  was  taken  into  the  business  as  a  partner.  Finally  Mr. 
Emil  Stray  succeeded  to  the  control  of  the  company  in  1912.  By 
this  time  the  company  owned  several  steamers  and  a  large  fleet  of 
sailing  ships. 

In  1917  the  company  foresaw  the  necessity  of  opening  their  own 
office  in  New  York,  and  accordingly  Mr.  Karl  Krogstad  was  sent 
here  to  start  the  company  of  S.  O.  Stray  &  Company,  Inc.,  with  Mr. 
Karl  Krogstad  as  president  and  Mr.  C.  V.  Thavenot  as  secretary 
and  treasurer.  The  company  was  primarily  started  with  the  pur- 
pose of  attending  to  the  chartering  of  the  company's  large  fleet  of 
sailing  ships  and  steamers  in  this  market  and  also  to  act  as  general 
chartering  agents  for  various  Norwegian  ship  owners.  The  com- 
pany was  a  success  from  the  start  and  during  the  years  following, 
up  to  the  signing  of  the  armistice,  were  the  largest  brokers  in  the 
chartering  of  foreign  sailing  ships. 

In  1918  Mr.  Emil  Stray  came  from  Norway  as  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Norwegian  Shipping  Commission  and  was  instrumental  in 
making  an  agreement  with  the  Shipping  Board,  known  as  the  "Nor- 
wegian Agreement,"  for  the  chartering  of  the  entire  Norwegian  sail- 
ing ship  fleet  to  the  United  States  Shipping  Board.  This  agreement 
covered  the  South  American,  Australian  and  African  trades,  and  this 
sailing  ship  fleet  practically  replaced  the  regular  steam  tonnage 
hitherto  employed  in  these  trades  and  which,  on  account  of  the  war, 
had  been  withdrawn  for  war  purposes.  It  can,  therefore,  be  said  that 
the  Norwegian  sailing  ship  fleet  performed  an  invaluable  service  in 
canning  on  the  trade  of  this  country  during  the  dearth  of  steam 
tonnage  from  that  time  until  the  cessation  of  hostilities. 

In  1919  the  company  started  to  require  more  steam  tonnage  to 
replace  the  sailing  ship  fleet  which,  by  then,  had  been  sadly  depleted 
by  German  submarines,  mines  and  other  war  fatalities.  The  S.  0. 
Stray  Steamship  Corporation  was  organized  in  New  York  at  the 
end  of  1919  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  regular  line  service 
from  New  York  to  Norwegian  ports,  maintaining  a  regular  semi- 
monthly service.     This  was  eventually  amplified,  by  combining  with 

—  311  — 


-e* 

-e-e-e- 

W 

W 

,r\, 
U 

U 

W 

a 

^A 

AA 

V7 

W 

^ 

^^ 

U 

w 

w 

u 

other  important  Norwegian  ship  owners,  by  a  service  to  other  Scan- 
dinavian and  Baltic  ports  and  were  one  of  the  first,  since  the  end 
of  the  war,  to  start  a  regular  service  to  Petrograd.  This  line  was 
successful  from  the  start,  and  shortly  after  the  company  established 
another  line  from  the  Northern  States  to  Brazil  and  the  Argentine, 
and  maintains  a  monthly  service  with  several  first  class  Diesel  motor 
ships.  In  order  to  insure  prompt  and  efficient  service  for  their 
shippers,  the  company  acquired  a  lease  on  Pier  No.  4,  Brooklyn, 
where  they  have  their  own  organization  for  loading  and  discharg- 
ing, receiving  and  delivering,  etc.  The  present  officers  of  the  New 
York  corporation  are  Mr.  C.  V.  Thavenot,  President;  Mr.  W.  A.  J. 
Kopp,  Vice-President ;  Captain  Christophersen,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  and  Marine  Superintendent. 

The  head  office  of  S.  0.  Stray  &  Company  A/S  is  still  located  in 
Christianssand  S,  Norway,  with  Mr.  Emil  Stray,  Mr.  T.  Isaksen 
and  Mr.  Karl  Krogstad  as  managing  directors.  The  company  also 
maintains  offices  in  Christiana ;  Cardiff,  Wales ;  Rio  de  Janeiro ; 
Santos  and  Buenos  Aires,  also  agents  at  all  other  ports  of  call. 


WESSEL,  "DUVAL  &  CO. 

THE  business  of  Wessel,  Duval  &  Co.  dates  back  to  1828,  when 
it  was  established  by  Augustus  Hemenway,  of  Boston.  The 
firm  during  that  period  has  been  exclusively  engaged  in  Ameri- 
can commerce — i.  e.,  shipping  the  products  of  this  country  to 
Bolivia,  Chile  and  Peru  (including  Ecuador  up  to  a  few  years 
ago)  and  bringing  back  the  products  of  those  countries,  of  which 
nitrate  of  soda   from   Chile  is   the  preponderant   commodity. 

At  the  outset  of  its  activities  the  firm  conducted  its  business 
by  its  own  fleet  of  sailing  vessels,  which  it  continued  until  sail  was 
replaced  by  steam,  and  then,  by  reason  of  the  prohibitive  cost  of 
operating  steamers  under  the  American  flag  in  competition  with 
foreign  tonnage  it  had  to  choose  between  a  foreign  ship-owning 
department,  affecting  its  distinctively  American  character,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  relying  on  long-term  time  charters  on  the  other, 
and  chose  the  latter. 

The  West  Coast  Line,  which  it  operates,  is  the  oldest  in  the 
West  Coast  service,  and  modern  vessels  of  about  8,000  tons  are 
employed.  The  route  is  via  the  Panama  Canal,  and  the  itinerary 
includes  all  the  important  ports  in  Peru  and  Chile. 


—  312  — 


WILLIAM  T.  DONNELLY 

WT.  DONNELLY,  consulting  engineer  and  naval  architect, 
17  Battery  Place,  New  York  City,  says  that  he  came  from 
the  land  and  not  from  the  sea,  and  that  as  a  boy  knew  more 
about  planting  potatoes  and  hoeing  corn  than  how  to  maneuver  a  boat 
in  or  out  of  water,  but  "a  man  drinketh  that  for  which  he  thirsteth," 
and  sooner  or  later,  a  man's  calling  follows  his  heart's  desire. 

Mr.  Donnelly's  technical  education,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  com- 
menced in  Cooper  Union,  and  he  makes  the  statement  that  it  still 
continues  in  the  broadest  of  all  educational  institutions,  the  work 
of  the  world. 

Mr.  Donnelly's  first  marine  work  of  importance  was  the  design 
for  a  10,000  ton  floating  dry  dock  for  Frederick  C.  Lang  in  1898. 
This  has  been  followed  by  many  others,  not  only  in  and  around  New 
York  but  up  and  down  the  Pacific  Coast  to  the  far  islands  of  the 
Pacific  and  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Mr.  Donnelly  speaks  with  pride 
of  the  fact  that  he  purchased  and  read  with  great  interest  the  first 
copy  of  Marine  Engineering,  was  a  continuous  subscriber  to  that 
publication  and  was  invited  by  its  owner  and  editor,  W.  L.  Aldrich, 
to  write  the  "Twenty  Years  Review." 

During  the  late  war,  Mr.  Donnelly  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Ship  Protection  Committee,  a  joint  organization  composed  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Shipping  Board  and  the  Naval  Consulting  Board.  His 
most  recent  contribution  to  nautical  affairs  has  been  his  electric 
propelled  boats,  the  Dawn  and  New  Era,  which  to  date  have  sailed 
more  than  6,000  miles  up  and  down  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

NATIONAL  STEAM  NAVIGATION 

COMPANY,  Ltd. 

KNOWN  as  the  National  Greek  Line  is  a  corporation  having 
been  incorporated  in  1907,  starting  with  the  steamship  Patris, 
this  concern  later  acquired  the  Macedonia,  which  was  lost  as 
an  auxiliary  cruiser  during  the  Balkan  War  of  1912.  After  the 
loss  of  the  Macedonia,  the  Themistocles  and  the  Megali  Hellas  were 
acquired.  To  further  increase  the  tonnage  of  this  line  the  S.  S. 
King  Alexander,  formerly  the  Cleveland  of  the  Hamburg  American 
Line  and  also  the  Constantinople,  formerly  the  Bremen  of  the  North 
German  Lloyd,  was  chartered.  This  company  also  owns  12  steamers 
used  in  coastwise  traffic  in  the  Mediterranean  together  with  several 
cargo  boats.  The  United  States  offices  of  the  company  are  located 
at  No.  20  Pearl  Street,  New  York  City,  the  main  office  being  at 
Athens,  Greece.  The  company  maintains  a  regular  service  from 
New  York  to  Piraeus,  Constantinople,  Varna.  (Bulgaria)  and  Con- 
stantza  (Rumania).  Also  New  York  to  Piraeus,  Beyrouth  and 
Alexandria. 

—  313  — 


ROYAL  INSURANCE  COMPANY,  Ltd. 

IN  reviewing  the  birth  of  the  Royal  Insurance  Company,  Limited, 
in  1845,  it  is  difficult  to  discover  any  definite  information  regard- 
ing the  reasons  which  induced  its  founders  to  embark  upon  the 
enterprise,  but  the  flourishing  and  prosperous  condition  of  commerce 
at  that  time  and  the  improvement  in  inter-communication  by  means 
of  early  railway  construction  and  the  foundation  of  the  American 
lines  which  had  been  inaugurated  by  the  departure  of  the  pioneer 
steamship  Britannia  probably   strongly  influenced  them. 

The  Company  was  provisionally  registered  March  11,  1845,  with 
a  capital  of  £2,000,000  in  100,000  shares  of  £20  each.  The  orig- 
inal application  for  shares  greatly  exceeded  the  capital  require- 
ments. Registration  was  completed  June  13th,  1845,  and  on  the 
10th  of  the  same  month  the  Directors  announced  their  readiness  to 
receive  insurance  proposals. 

Although  the  field  of  the  Company's  operations  was  extended 
cautiously  and  slowly,  yet  by  1851  many  foreign  agencies  in  all  parts 
of  the  Avorld  had  been  established  and  early  in  that  year  the  direc- 
tors decided  to  extend  to  the  United  States,  commencing  with  New 
York.  The  following  year  offices  were  opened  in  Philadelphia  and 
Cincinnati  and  since  that  time  further  branch  offices  and  agencies 
have  been  opened,  until  at  the  present  time  the  Company  is  prepared 
to  render  service  in  practically  any  part  of  the  United  States. 

Following  common  experience  the  Company  was  not  free  from 
vicissitudes  and  hardships,  contributed  to  largely  by  the  vast  con- 
flagrations which  history  has  recorded.  All  losses,  however,  result- 
ing from  these  disasters  were  promptly  paid  and  through  prudent 
management  and  building  up  of  reserves  there  has  never  been  a 
report  issued  to  shareholders  recommending  the  passing  of  a  divi- 
dend. 

In  1907  the  Company's  present  New  York  quarters,  the  "Royal" 
building,  84  William  Street,  was  opened.  This  change  brought  the 
Company  on  the  very  fringe  of  the  insurance  district  at  that  time, 
but  at  this  date  William  Street  and  Maiden  Lane  may  be  considered 
the  heart  of  the  district. 

On  January  1,  1911,  a  marine  department  was  established  under 
the  management  of  Mr.  John  E.  Hoffman,  and  under  his  direction  the 
Company  has  amply  shared  in  the  nation's  maritime  prosperity. 
Directly  associated  with  the  "Royal"  in  the  marine  department  are 
the  Queen  Insurance  Company  of  America,  the  Newark  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company,  the  Star  Insurance  Company  of  America  and  the 
Maritime  Insurance  Company,  Limited,  of  Liverpool. 

In  conclusion,  the  appropriateness  of  the  Royal's  motto,  "Tutum 
te  sistam"  (literally,  "I  will  place  thee  in  safety")  is  demonstrated 
by  the  present  position  and  resources  of  the  Company. 

—  314  — 


STEAMSHIPS  HERMAN   FRASCH,  J.   R.   GORDON,  AND 

HENRY  D.  WHITON 

Of  the  Union   Sulphur  Company's  Fleet 


ORE  STEAMSHIP  CORPORATION 

ORE  STEAMSHIP  CORPORATION  is  a  subsidiary  com- 
pany of  Bethlehem  Steel  Company  and  was  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  owning  and  operating  steamers  principally  in  the 
service  of  Bethlehem  Steel  Company  and  its  asosciated  and  affiliated 
companies. 

The  first  of  its  fleet  was  the  Steamship  Cubore,  delivered  in  1917, 
and  followed  by  three  other  sister  steamers  of  the  same  size,  namely,, 
about  11,600  tons  total  deadweight.  These  vessels  are  of  special 
design  for  the  ore  and  bulk  cargo  trade  and  so  constructed  as  to 
require  the  minimum  time  in  loading  and  discharging.  A  smaller 
steamer  of  about  6,100  tons  deadweight,  of  the  same  construction, 
is  also  in  service. 

To  meet  the  requirements  for  the  carriage  of  iron  ore  from  Chile 
to  the  Bethlehem  plants,  Ore  Steamship  Corporation  now  has  under 
construction  five  of  the  largest  vessels  that  will  fly  the  American  flag. 
Each  of  the  five  steamers  is  of  more  than  20,000  tons  deadweight 
capacity  and  in  addition  to  being  able  to  transport  iron  ore  the- 
arrangements  are  such  that  they  will  also  be  able  to  carry  their  full 
deadweight  capacity  of  bulk  oil  and  other  bulk  cargoes.  In  1922,. 
the  total  deadweight  capacity  of  the  fleet  will  be  over  160,000  tons. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  most  modern  facilities,  Ore  Steamship  Cor- 
poration now  has  under  erection  at  the  Claremont  Terminal  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  Railroad,  in  New  York  harbor,  one  of  the  most  mod- 
ern bulk  discharging  plants  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  This  plant  will 
have  mechanical  unloaders  capable  of  discharging  ore  and  other  bulk 
cargoes  at  the  rate  of  1,500  tons  per  hour.  It  will  be  a  valuable 
asset  to  the  port  of  New  York  as  by  the  economies  it  will  effect  it 
will  divert  a  great  deal  of  tonnage  to  New  York  that  would  other- 
wise go  to  other  ports. 

It  is  contemplated  to  build  a  number  of  additional  steamers  of 
20,000  tons  capacity  for  this  Company.  In  the  near  future  its  fleet 
will  be  an  important  one  to  the  American  Merchant  Marine  and  the 
business  of  the  port  of  New  York. 


316  — 


EXPORT  STEAMSHIP 
CORPORATION 

THE  EXPORT  STEAMSHIP  CORPORATION  was  organized 
and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  York  in 
January,   1919. 

The  Corporation  was  organized  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  and 
operating  vessels  under  the  United  States  flag  for  the  development  of 
the  American  Merchant  Marine.  The  first  vessels  allocated  by  the 
U.  S.  Shipping  Board  to  the  Corporation  were  operated  to  United 
Kingdom,  Scandinavian,  Greek,  Turkish  and  Black  Sea  ports. 
Later  additional  Levant  ports  were  added  to  the  service,  and  during 
the  past  year  the  officers  of  the  Corporation  have  devoted  themselves 
almost  exclusively  to  the  trade  with  the  Near  East. 

The  efficient  operation  of  the  Corporation  has  been  recognized  by 
the  Shipping  Board,  being  recently  designated  as  the  exclusive 
operator  of  Shipping  Board  vessels  to  Greek  and  Levant  ports  and 
having  its  scope  of  operation  extended  to  include  ports  on  the 
Egyptian,  Syrian  and  Palestine  coasts. 

No  effort  has  been  spared  to  convince  exporters  that  their  mer- 
chandise can  be  shipped  as  expeditiously  in  vessels  operated  by  the 
Corporation  as  by  foreign  companies  which  were  favored  with  the 
greater  part  of  this  business  prior  to  the  signing  of  the  Armistice. 
The  result  of  the  earnest  endeavors  of  the  Corporation  in  this  direc- 
tion has  been  very  gratifying.  Exporters  have  recognized  the  efforts 
of  the  Corporation  to  such  an  extent  that  its  vessels  have  been  carry- 
ing full  cargoes  of  general  merchandise  for  some  time  to  Greek,  Le- 
vant and  Turkish  ports,  and  among  the  exporters  who  have  favored 
it  with  their  business  are  the  most  prominent  and  old  established  in 
the  trade. 

Regular  sailings,  efficient  operation,  constituting  service  to  its 
clients,  has  been  the  constant  aim  of  the  Corporation,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  a  continuance  of  the  present  policy  will 
■eventually  secure  for  it  even  larger  patronage  than  it  enjoys  at 
present. 

The  carriage  of  American  goods  in  American  bottoms,  operated 
by  Americans,  is  the  objective  of  the  Corporation,  and  with  the  co- 
operation of  American  exporters  the  attainment  of  the  objective  is 
assured. 


T7        T7 


—  317  — 


THREE  STAR  LIKE 

THE  SOCIETE  LES  AFFRETEURS  REUNIS,  known  in  the 
United  States  under  the  name,  "Three  Star  Line,"  was  organ- 
ized in  1895,  with  two  steamers,  and  engaged  in  the  coastwise 
trade  between  Algeria  and  the  northern  ports  of  France. 

At  the  beginning  many  obstacles  were  encountered,  but,  due  to 
the  activity  and  the  energy  displayed  by  its  young  Director,  Mr. 
Jean  Stern,  the  numerous  difficulties  were  overcome  little  by  little, 
and  the  three-star  green  flag  soon  took  a  place  more  and  more  im- 
portant in  European  maritime  traffic. 

Mr.  Stern's  object  was  to  improve  the  commercial  relations 
between  France,  its  colonies  of  North  Africa  and  foreign  countries — 
create  new  markets,  etc. 

When  the  war  broke  out  the  fleet  of  the  Affreteurs  Reunis 
amounted  to  48,000  d.  w.  tons,  but,  due  to  the  submarine  war,  suf- 
fered greatly  and  at  the  time  of  the  Armistice  it  was  reduced  to 
15,000  tons.  But  the  man  at  the  head  of  the  Affreteurs  Reunis 
feared  no  obstacles  and  in  1921  the  fleet  aggregated  45  ships,  of  a 
total  d.  w.  tonnage  of  150,000  tons,  ranking  fourth  in  importance 
among  the  great  French  steamship  companies. 

Gradually  Mr.  Stern  extended  the  scope  of  his  operations,  and, 
convinced  of  the  development  of  commercial  trade  with  the  United 
States,  during  the  spring  of  1919  he  inaugurated  a  freight  service 
between  New  York  and  the  Western  Mediterranean. 

This  new  service  rapidly  became  very  popular  among  the  big 
importers  of  North  Africa,  and  at  their  request  the  sailing,  which, 
at  the  beginning,  took  place  every  six  weeks  were  consistently  aug- 
mented. The  new  service,  maintained  with  six  steamers  of  the  most 
modern  type,  now  includes  all  the  important  ports  of  the  Western 
Mediterranean,  and  sailings  take  place  regularly  every  15  days  from 
New  York  and  Philadelphia. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  at  a  time  when  all  the  nations  are 
trying  to  protect  their  merchant  flag  by  direct  or  indirect  subsidies, 
Mr.  Stern  is  decidedly  adverse  to  any  aid  from  the  government,  even 
for  passenger  boats,  and  has  proved  it  lately  by  organizing,  without 
help  or  subsidy,  a  regular  service  of  passenger  steamers  between 
France,  North  Africa  and  Senegal,  which  is  very  popular. 


■6-     ^ 


—  3 1 8  — 


THE  EAST  ASIATIC  COMPANY,  Inc. 

THIS  company  is  the  United  States  representative  of  The  East 
Asiatic  Company,  Limited,  of  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  the  pio- 
neers in  the  field  of  oceangoing  motorships.  The  first  time  the 
New  Yorkers  had  an  opportunity  to  view  one  of  these  motorships  was 
in  1914,  when  the  port  of  New  York  was  visited  by  the  M.  S.  "Siam," 
but  since  then  motorships  have  not  been  an  usual  sight  in  the  North 
and  East  Rivers;  in  fact  were  quite  common  at  one  time.  In  spite 
of  this,  however,  they  are  usually  able  to  rouse  the  interest  of  onlook- 
ers on  account  of  their  appearance,  which  deviates  from  that  of 
steamships  generally  by  the  missing  smokestack.  There  are  those 
who  are  predicting  that  the  motorship  is  going  to  be  the  dominating 
type  on  the  seas  in  years  to  come,  and  judging  from  the  increase  in 
tonnage  of  this  class  of  ships  during  the  past  few  years,  they  may 
perhaps  not  be  altogether  wrong. 

Besides  their  large  fleet  of  motorships  which  is  employed  in  vari- 
ous trades,  taking  them  all  over  the  globe,  The  East  Asiatic  Com- 
pany, Limited,  also  operates  a  regular  line  of  passenger  steamers ; 
the  Baltic  American  Line  from  New  York  to  the  Baltic,  Danzig  and 
Libau  being  their  ports  of  call. 

Of  other  regular  lines  of  The  East  Asiatic  Company,  Ltd.,  one  is 
between  Los  Angeles,  San  Francisco,  Seattle  and  other  Pacific  Coast 
ports  and  European  ports  terminating  at  Copenhagen  and  one 
between  European  ports  and  Cuba,  Mexico,  Galveston  and  New 
Orleans  and  vice  versa. 


/.  F.  C.  LINES 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  FREIGHTING  CORPORATION 
organized  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Delaware  in  1916  with 
H.  J.  Lesser,  President ;  J.  H.  Graves,  Vice-President ;  Irving 
L.  Ernst,  Treasurer,  and  T.  J.  McManus,  Secretary,  has  met  with 
the  success  conspicuous  among  the  managers  and  operators  of 
American  tonnage.  This  company  started  its  business  with  the 
operation  of  a  line  of  steamers  from  Philadelphia  to  the  East 
Coast  of  South  America  and  subsequently  extended  its  services  to 
cover  a  line  from  Philadelphia  to  the  French  Atlantic  ports  and 
from  the  River  Plate  to  United  Kingdom  ports.  Recently  it  has 
further  extended  its  services  to  the  East  Coast  of  South  America,, 
operating  out  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Sa- 
vannah, Charleston  and  Jacksonville.  The  company's  main  office  is. 
at  44  Whitehall  Street,  New  York  City. 

—  319  — 


COMPANIA  TRASATLANTICA 

(Spanish    <Roya/    T^lail  Line) 

THE  enterprise  "A.  Lopez  &  Co."  was  founded  in  Alicante, 
Spain,  in  the  year  1856,  establishing  a  regular  service  between 

Alicante  and  Marseilles  (France)  with  the  steamers  "Alicante," 
■"Madrid"  and  "Marsella."  It  also  established  a  service  across  the 
ocean  with  the  steamers  "Ciudad  Condal"  and  "Paris." 

On  the  10th  of  September,  1867,  the  mail  contract  was  obtained 
between  Spain  and  Santo  Domingo,  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba,  which 
service  was  established  with  the  steamers  "Ciudad  Condal"  and 
"Paris,"  acquiring  in  that  same  year,  six  more  vessels  named 
"Canarias,"  "Cantabria,"  "Espaha,"  "Isla  de  Cuba,"  "Puerto  Rico" 
and  "Canto  Domingo,"  said  service  being  inaugurated  with  the 
mentioned  steamers  the  early  part  of  1868. 

In  the  year  1877  this  service  was  extended  to  Central  America, 
with  the  addition  of  four  more  steamers. 

In  1881,  this  enterprise  was  transformed  into  a  corporation 
under  the  name  of  "Compaiiia  Trasatlantica"  de  Barcelona. 

In  1884  a  new  line  was  established  plying  between  Spain  and 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  in  that  year  there  were  purchased  eleven 
more  steamers,  to  wit,  "A.  Lopez,"  "Cataluna,"  "Ciudad  de  San- 
tander,"  "San  Francisco,"  "San  Augustin,"  "San  Ignacio  de 
Loyola,"  "Vizcaya,"  "Panama,"  "Mendez  Nunez,"  "Mexico"  and 
"Habana." 

In  1886,  a  mail  service  was  organized,  comprising  regular  lines 
to  the  United  States,  Venezuela,  Colombia,  Argentine,  Fernando 
Poo  and  Morocco  and  on  the  28th  of  June,  1887,  contract  was 
closed  with  the  acquirement  of  the  steamers  "Isla  de  Panay,"  "Isla 
de  Luzon,"  "Isla  de  Cebu,"  and  "Isla  de  Mindanao." 

In  1913  there  were  built  the  steamers  "Reina  Victoria  Eugenia" 
and  "Infanta  Isabel  de  Borbon"  of  15,400  tons  displacement  each. 
The  Company  has  now  under  construction  and  almost  completed  the 
new  steamers  "Alfonso  XIII,"  "Cristobal  Colon"  and  "Manuel 
Arnus."  The  first  two  are  16,000  tons  each  and  the  last  one  of 
12,000  tons. 

The  Company  owns  and  operates  twenty-one  vessels,  all  of  which 
are  both  passenger  and  freight  carriers,  sailing  from  the  ports  of 
Spain  to  the  U.  S.,  Uraguay,  Argentine,  Cuba,  Mexico,  Porto  Rico, 
Panama,  Colombia  and  the  Philippine  Islands. 

The  New  York  office  of  the  company  is  at  Pier  8,  East  River, 
-which  was  built  bv  them  in  1907. 


\J 

320 


THE  S£MERICS$N  EXPRESS 
COMPANY 

WHEN  we  make  use  of  some  modern  convenience  we  are  apt 
to  lose  sight  of  the  romance  of  the  development  of  that 
convenience.  For  there  is  romance  in  business  and  the 
stories  of  the  development  and  growth  in  the  United  States  of  the 
railroads,  the  telephone,  the  telegraph  and  other  great  media  of 
progress  are  as  thrilling  and  as  interesting  as  any  other  phase  of 
our  national  life. 

So  it  is  with  the  express  business.  The  efficiency  of  this  busi- 
ness, with  its  135,000  persons  employed  in  its  various  branches  and 
its  handling  of  approximately  1,000,000  shipments  a  day,  is  pretty 
much  taken  for  granted.  But  this  huge  business  developed  out  of 
an  idea  formulated  way  back  in  1839.  It  was  developed  step  by 
step  through  the  various  periods  of  American  industrial  progress, 
passing  through  without  any  serious  difficulty  many  periods  of  de- 
pression and  panic,  and  finally  developing  into  one  great  Company 
that  reaches  every  hamlet  and  city  in  the  United  States. 

It  is  curious  and  noteworthy  in  looking  backward  to  learn  how 
this  service  of  transporting  packages  from  one  point  to  another 
lead  gradually  into  demands  by  the  public  for  the  extension  of  that 
service  along  financial  lines,  so  that  finally  one  Company,  at  least 
— the  American  Express  Company — became  a  great  financial  insti- 
tution and  was  able  to  continue  its  existence  as  a  profitable  and 
growing  institution,  even  after  turning  over  its  main  business  of 
transportation  to  the  American  Railway  Express  Company — the 
single  Express  transportation  agency  in  the  United  States  at  the 
present  time. 

Transportation  of  packages,  while  at  first  only  handled  between 
points  within  the  United  States,  soon  developed  into  an  international 
business  and  this  in  turn  resulted  in  the  American  Express  Company 
becoming  an  international  financial  institution.  As  the  Express 
business  necessitated  the  establishment  of  offices  or  agencies  in  the 
more  important  foreign  centers,  travelers  looked  to  the  American 
Express  Company  for  some  means  of  taking  care  of  their  funds  so 
that  they  might  be  delivered  to  them  safely  at  one  point  or  another 
in  their  journeys.  From  these  requests  and  demands  grew  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Travelers  Cheques,  which  have  since  become  known 
in  every  portion  of  the  world,  and  which  are  accepted  and  cashed  at 
sight,  even  where  other  forms  of  currency  may  be  questioned.  The 
demand  for  Travelers'  Cheques  grew  so  rapidly  that  it  necessitated 
the  establishment  by  the  American  Express  Company  of  thousands 
■of  banking  connections  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  these  connec- 

—  321  — 


rei 


^^^^^^ 


MM 


RSH 


tions  today  are  one  of  the  important  assets  of  the  Company  because 
they  provide  a  service  to  the  Company's  customers  that  is  unparal- 
leled. 

The  services  of  the  Company  to  the  traveler,  in  a  financial  sense, 
became  so  important  that  there  grew  up  a  demand  for  the  Company 
to  take  charge  of  travelers'  entire  problems  and  this  necessitated 
the  establishment  of  the  Travel  Department,  in  order  to  supply 
steamship,  railroad  and  hotel  and   other  accommodations. 

The  Foreign  Trade  Department  of  the  Company  was  also  es- 
tablished because  of  the  requests  of  customers  of  the  Company  for 
information  regarding  exports  and  imports  and  the  opportunities 
for  the  extension  of  foreign  trade  by  importers  and  exporters  not 
only  in  the  United  States,  but  in  other  countries. 

Thus  the  development  of  this  great  Company  has  been  brought 
about  as  a  result  of  the  original  idea  of  one  man  who  offered  to  carry 
valuable  packages,  at  express  speed,  from  one  city  to  another  a 
little  over  eighty  years  ago.  Except  for  the  transportation  of  pack- 
ages from  one  country  to  another,  this  part  of  the  business  has 
been  turned  over  to  one  Company — the  American  Railway  Express 
Company — whose  sole  business  is  that  of  transportation.  But  the 
various  financial  functions  that  have  developed  out  of  this  original 
idea  are  being  carried  on  by  the  American  Express  Company,  which 
is  now  solely  a  financial  institution  and  one  of  the  most  important 
in  the  international  business  world. 


THE  ROOSEVELT  STEAMSHIP  CO. 


THE  ROOSEVELT  STEAMSHIP  COMPANY  was  incorpor- 
ated during  the  year  1921  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in  commerce  and  navigation. 
The  titular  head  of  this  company  is  Captain  Kermit  Roosevelt, 
second  son  of  the  illustrious  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  Mrs.  Edith 
Kermit  Carew  Roosevelt.  In  the  days  of  the  American  clippers  the 
Carews  were  strongly  intrenched  in  trade  and  commerce  and  were 
pioneers  in  the  upbuilding  of  American  trade  with  foreign  lands. 
Mr.  Roosevelt's  plans  for  developing  an  American  organization  to 
push  forward  American  interests  throughout  the  world  are  well 
known  and  his  host  of  friends  wish  him  every  success  in  the  ultimate 
accomplishment  of  them.  The  company  is  now  operating  from  a 
modest  office  at  44  Beaver  Street. 


—  322 


GOTHAM    PRESS.   Inc. 
NEW         YORK 


DATE  DUE 

!=        APR 

11    197G 

nfcl/J  APR  * 

!y/B 

ILL 

ntahs 

i    l 

GAVLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U    S   A 

■liSffi^010^1-  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A  A      000  205  436 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


